3ndarchy

The world has gotten grossly overwhelming. Just too many things bombarding my brain all at the same time. It's gotten to the point I am deliberately taking steps to try to simplify my life, that is to in all honestly de-tech it as much as I can.

Part of that journey will be here on write.as, working hard to vent into this space I have created, something I have not done.

The rest involves taking very clear steps to try to be deliberate in my actions. For example, working hard to remove non-essential email from my phone. I don't need them all there. It's best if I can have them at my computer and laptop. This way I can sit down and be deliberate about going through my messages. Rather than tapping out an email on the fly from my phone. It's not perfect by any means, but it will mean doing a little more work to be deliberate with electronic mail.

Another step is switching to a paper calendar. Yes, I know, how old school of me. But there is something nice about sitting down and planning out my day/week/month/year via my planner. About being deliberate in that process.

Another step: switching to text-only versions of news sources as much as possible. Avoiding getting my news from social media platforms. Which leads me into the final realm: walking back from social media. I can't say that I'm abandoning it, as there are certain things I find very useful, like using Twitter to follow the National Weather Service.

However, if I spend much time on Twitter, I find that all I do is end up exposed to the ever present firehose of leftist drama. That's something I just don't want any more.

So that means logging out of Facebook unless I have a reason to be on it. That means logging off Twitter, unless I have a reason to be on it. That also means leaving Reddit and other online communities (which, let's be honest, have not actually created community).

I've even dived a little bit into old school IRC and Newsgroups for discussion if I have to because, like everything else, it requires me to be present if I want to engage. If I don't, I'm not. There is no opening my account to find 100 posts of random asshats on the internet telling me I'm wrong. There is no constant barrage about everything. I can wade in as I want, I can come out as I want.

Maybe stripping the internet back down to where it used to be, where it should be, is what really needs to happen.

It is perhaps then that my creativity can come back, and my anxiety can take a back seat without being drugged into submission. Maybe the internet and world behind it can become interesting again instead of a source of constant frustration and annoyance.