Today’s writing prompt: How much of the day are you plugged in? Do you consciously set aside offline time, or does it happen whenever it happens?

In recent months, I have made an effort to spend less time in front of my computer. It can be all too easy to get sucked in by what’s on the screen, whether it’s something I’m actively working on, or just something I’m doing to amuse myself and/or kill time.

In the past, I have taken what I call Quiet Days. That means no devices that produce amplified sound (phone, radio, TV, stereo, computer), and no unnecessary conversation. We are subjected to so much noise and chatter over the course of a typical day that there’s often no space for silence; if we want to enjoy silence, we have to actively claim it.

Quiet days are particularly effective when things get super busy. Stepping away from all that for a few hours, allowing space for silence, gives us the opportunity to sit with ourselves and simply be part of our surroundings—instead of being smothered by our surroundings and the things we choose to fill them with.

As things in my life have changed over the last year or so, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to create space in which I can simply be, so I have not really had to resort to Quiet Days. Spending time away from the computer and smartphone screens, not having music on just to fill the space or block out my own thoughts, and reading or doing other activities that don’t necessarily require the usual entertainment-oriented devices have become things I do on a regular basis. I also make sure to get plenty of sleep.

By creating these smaller spaces of silence as part of my normal routines, I find I have less need to resort to the shut-it-all-off-and-escape approach of Quiet Days. I can still choose to do that, of course—but I like not feeling as though I have to.

(19 November 2013)