Introducing The Offline Project
My resolution for 2023? Be more offline.
I’m calling this experiment “The Offline Project”…or how I escaped the metaverse and planted a garden, wrote a novel, and had more fun with the people I love.
I’m the parent of a young child. Gone are the days of waking up on a Saturday morning and spending the day exactly as I please. Unless I’m really intentional about my pockets of free time, they disappear in a morass of cleaning, laundry, and all too often, mindless scrolling.
Like this morning: I woke up at 5:10 a.m., and couldn’t get back to sleep. Previously, I would have grabbed my phone after a while, and spent 45 minutes hopping from Facebook, to news, to email, to my texts. But with the Offline Project, I’m limiting checking my phone until after 8 a.m., because morning is when my brain works best for writing.
With this project, I’ll attempt to greatly curtail my online time, following specific rules. I’ll seek to answer the question—am I really so busy? Or am I wasting time and fragmenting my attention on the internet? And what could I do if I didn’t? Is putting away my phone the panacea that will make me more content and less frazzled?
Here are the rules:
Offline Project Rules
Keep phone in safe during the day. Check it 4x daily—after 8 a.m. in the morning, at lunch, at the end of the workday, and in the evening before bed. Exceptions: answering and receiving calls. Driving directions.
I have up to 30 minutes of “online” time per day, which can be used for life stuff, planning, research, registering for programs, checking and responding to emails, etc. This time should be directed by a written list. Exceptions: paid work, which takes place online; podcasts; tv/movies if watched socially with my husband, writing this newsletter, classes.
Screen-free Saturday.
Strategies I Implemented This Week:
I bought a steel cash box to keep my phone in during the day. (I considered a timed K-Safe, but with a young child, I do want a phone available for emergencies.)
I bought a wristwatch to check the time instead of relying on my phone.
I turned off notifications for a Reddit group.
What I’ll Do Instead
In 2023, I want to take more walks, plant a garden, cook better food, be more present with my toddler, finish writing a novel, read more books, socialize in person more, go on more outings, and spend quality time with my husband.
The toddler’s up. I’ll leave it here.
Carpe Diem!
Kim