tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post267713154589098021..comments2023-06-28T11:56:24.073-04:00Comments on The Lamb's War: Do We Need An Internet Sabbath?Micah Baleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-71421403602593905622012-11-06T12:15:57.949-05:002012-11-06T12:15:57.949-05:00James, you've inspired me to set up a "st...James, you've inspired me to set up a "standing desk."Micah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37106751.post-36521724434773325682012-11-06T12:08:02.462-05:002012-11-06T12:08:02.462-05:00Your essay is "right on." IT is wonderf...Your essay is "right on." IT is wonderful, but it has, as you point out so well, downsides. Here's an additional big one: <br /><br />There is a growing body of consistent research that points up the significant risks to health in sitting a lot, and that this is not overcome by working out at a gym, even with daily workouts there. <br /><br />Think about a stand-up desk. Stand up for phone calls. <br /><br />Stand up and move about. Go see or call (stand up) people. Do walking meetings. Do spiritual meditative walking (these have been the occasion of my most powerful meditative experiences, and I stay awake rather than dozing off, as I often do when sitting in a meeting for worship). <br /><br />Rethink your IT needs. No smartphone for me (a cell phone meets my needs quite well).<br /><br />Schedule your "turn on" the computer or tablet times around what is important but not necessarily urgent (and thereby often gets put off) and that which is truly urgent and iomportant (which is not what a lot of what appears on the screen is -- it may or may not be urgent but it is usually not truly impotant). <br /><br /> "Turn off" as soon as you've done your planned tasks. (The start-up jolts to the computer are no longer a risk to the life of the equipment.) <br /><br />Use paper and pencil to accumulate a list of "to dos" by category (important but not urgent; urgent and truly important) when you next "turn on." I discovered an unexpected benefit in this practice and the resultant slowing down of the back-and-forth e-mails: less distraction and more efficient AND substantive communication. <br /><br />Read from paper rather than the screen. <br /><br />Reading from the screen USING the text to speech option. With a tablet, you can then move about (remember: minimize sitting to protect your health). <br /><br />Free yourself from the distractions of the screen well before going to bed. Read. Talk. Meditate. <br /><br />Devoting more time to something often does not result in a commensurate increase in output. IT increases inefficiency with all the distriactions it makes so readily available and appealing. Control It rather than leTting IT control you. <br /><br />FREE YOURSELF BY CONTROLLING WITH UNPLUGING. <br /><br />SOAR WITH THE SPIRIT.James Breilinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01127399925944849943noreply@blogger.com