I’m trying to do less this year. It’s one of my New Year’s Resolutions that I somehow feel inspired to achieve. This doesn’t mean I’m going to get lazier or anything. What it means, to me, is that I want to get less caught up in the never-ending entanglement of “stuff.” I dislike how almost all my mornings begin with either my phone or my tablet. I sit there with my coffee endlessly scrolling.
Facebook I’ve curated to where it vexes me the least. Instagram rarely vexes me, but I am tired of how every morning there will be 900 different posts from people and brands’ stories to sort through. Outside of the ones that are by friends, I often just blast through them to be done with them as I don’t care. Then there is Twitter. Even before Twitter was sold I had been debating what good it brings to my life.
There is some good Twitter does bring. I have many good friends I follow there and the robust community of classic movie lovers is something I appreciate about the place. Yet, over the last few months, the vibes have changed. Before the vibes began to change I had noticed that of all the media I social, Twitter is the one that tends to anger me the most. The ease of wanting to engage with stories and tweets that anger me is something that isn’t the most robust way to start my day.
This is not because I want to be an “old man yelling at a cloud.” I grew up with the internet. I’m part of that last generation that had an analog childhood before everything went online. It would truly blow the mind of my 17-year-old self to be told that one day the internet wouldn’t be a 56k dial-up affair, but something far faster, without wires, and accessible by a small computer I carry in my pocket.
I’m focusing on limiting my time and energy to the places which tend to leave me feeling moody all day. I’m getting older and I don’t want to spend all my time trapped in a brain loop of frustration. I have anxiety so that’s easier to set off in my grey matter than it is in someone who doesn’t have it. Someone once pointed out to me that one of my contradictions is that I’m something of an old-fashioned fellow who also is a techie.
This is true. And I have found, as I’m trying to not be so obsessed with the information the pocket computer can give me, that I can find ways to make the tech work for me in the ways I want. Gone is sitting with coffee and just scrolling till the cows come home. Now my mornings are more on a vibe I like. I sit down and tune up a radio station on satellite radio. Typically I like the relaxed feel that listening to ‘40s Junction brings.
Now I sit with my coffee, relaxing music playing, and I do scroll a little. However, I don’t obsess. A quick look at Instagram, a flip through Facebook, and a short visit to Twitter—but even then I’m debating taking that app off my phone. I look at a few tweets from friends, then I walk away and enjoy my coffee. At that point, I may look over the calendar and look at what I gotta do on that particular day.
I’m not saying I’m a miracle worker who knows everything, but I am saying that I have noticed a sense of more relaxation has come over me as I’ve begun this practice. The last couple of years has left us all anxious, overwhelmed, and angry. You know what? I’m burnt out on it. I noticed as 2022 ended just how burnt out I was feeling. I want to live in 2023 with more energy and less destain. So far, I seem to be well on that track. However, the year is still young and we’ll see how this is working come June. I’m hopeful though. See you next week.