Ways To Reduce Your Digital Grind

Everyday we wake up to a digital world – all tangled up in wires and waves of electronics and machines and gadgets. A simple weather check is done online, we wait impatiently for the beep when our food is ready, and send e-cards on birthdays. Give it all a break! Here are a few tips to make your hectic lifestyle a little more analogue.

• Write a love letter. – When was the last time you used a pen? In the age of Facebook, Twitter, and smartphones, it seems that interaction has been reduced to a tweet, a “PM”, or a text message. Grab a paper and a pen, and write that special someone a good ol’ fashioned love letter – sealed with a kiss, if you like. Use the postal service more often!
• Visit a library. – Shut down your laptops and read a book. Don’t click – flip, to the next page. A visit to the library is not only an escape from the digital world, but a warm welcome to a treasure trove of towering bookcases, intricate illustrations, beautiful typefaces, and small talk with the cute librarian.
• Ask a friend to teach you how to play the guitar. – That way, you can play together next time – not in Rock Band 3, but in a real band.

• Play sports with real people, not gaming console characters! – Turn off your Wii and sweat it out under the sun.
• Keep a journal or a scrapbook. – A small notebook, a pen, and a few minutes of your time. Spill your secrets, write down your goals, plan trips! Paste your Lomographs on it, make collages, doodle caricatures … you get the idea.
• Watch movies in a movie theater. – Resist the urge to download torrents! Get off your couch! Buy a ticket, line up, and watch flicks in the cinema. Toss popcorn at unsuspecting moviegoers!
• Enjoy music in vinyl. – Pause your mp3 download queues and place the needle on the record! Turntables and vinyls are still available today. Mmm, that crackling vinyl sounds as good as a shutter click. Plus, you can grab a camera and do a sleeveface!

• Catch up with a friend “IRL” (in real life) – Logoff your instant messaging applications and hang out with a friend. Take snapshots together, update each other without having to say “LOL” or “OMG”.
• Check the weather – outdoors! – Yes, we know – as soon as you get up in the morning, you turn on the computer and the weather app automatically updates you of the forecast in just a click. Try to get your sleepy @$# off the bed and bathe in the glow of the sun!
• Document your days with Lomography. – Ah, we don’t need to tell you this, do we? Sure, it’s tempting to do a daily Instagram update (ha!), but using an analogue camera is more exciting. A roll of 36-exp. 35mm film is enough for a month (plus you get a little extra for self-portraits), and you’ll have to wait until the month’s end to see your shots … but that makes it more thrilling!

If you have any more ideas on how to reduce your digital grind, share them with us. We’d love to hear them!

escrito por shhquiet el 2011-02-25 #lifestyle #analogue #digital #tips