There is an article making the rounds on the Interwebs about the Joy of Quiet by Pico Iyer in the NY Times <http://goo.gl/bUaGG>. The core premise is that the scarcity of freedom from stimulation is making it an emerging luxury.
In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — often in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug. Like teenagers, we appear to have gone from knowing nothing about the world to knowing too much all but overnight.
It’s well worth reading the full article to draw your own interpretations. Here are some thoughts relative to #slowmanagement.
- The fact that the article is resonating with people illustrates the collective fatigue. At the end of 2011, so many friends and colleagues said they were shutting down for a week. Symptom.
- Space to think is a luxury, so it is worth investing in the time to create it. It’s important to develop a system to manage the over-load. (See Experiments)
- With the increase in communication, it is important to know how to filter–particularly as the noise amplifies and you have to work hard to get to the signal.
- Filtering happens best when you can engage and focus to get beyond the immediate.
The Internet and its possibilities still enthrall and frankly employ me. So the idea of ditching it as some corruptive influence doesn’t make sense. The key is to embrace it and manage it. That’s the way to sanity.
*Picture: Simon Alexander enjoying some quiet.
Hey JA – I think Simon has quietly plugged himself in to un-quiet with his head-cans!! Nice post and all too true as I consider ramping up into 2012. Take it easy!
‘A series of tests in recent years has shown, Mr. Carr points out, that after spending time in quiet rural settings, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.” ‘
I’m in middle of The Shallows, and what really struck me about this was that ‘spending time’ didn’t mean 3 days in a cabin, it meant an hourlong walk outside. It’s inspired me to head out today for two or three hours of staring at the ocean.
Interstingly, I *did* just spend 3 days in a cabin in a town with absolutely no internet or mobile internet access. Instead, I had to rely on some of the 200 very friendly locals for suggestions on places to eat, visit and so on (best bet for ultimate unlpugging was the local hot springs, FWIW). Face to face *human communication* as a source of information; and incredibly relevant, timely and useful communication – this was the concept that struck me most. That, and how easy it became to live without all the gizmos (that yes, do keep me employed and allow me to taks such vacations).
As an aside, one of the things I am finding more useful with my mobile phone is the ability to quickly and immediately delete the 80% of useless emails I recieve daily. I read the subject and first couple of lines and if it doesn’t fit my criteria of useful or important, I send it back into the ether immediately. Upon arriving at work later, I know that those things in my inbox are all at least somewhat filtered and therefore important.