TMI? Ignore it.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 Monday, 07 September 2009 18:53
Really? Did I need to know what a high-school aquaintenance had for lunch? I haven't see him in 20 years but I now get updates about his life sent straight to my phone. Honestly, I don't have to know these things. I really don't even want to know. I accidentially added this guy to my Facebook mobile updates and am just to lazy to go remove him from my "mobile" peeps. But everyone else in my mobile updates are there on purpose. I feel the need to know about my brother's latest motorcycle accessory because he feels the need to post about it and I feel the need to have it sent immediatly to my phone.
Really? Do I need to know these things. I used to just call.
I came across the old article in the New York Times about Timothy Ferriss. Its in the Fashion and Style section which tells me that the NYT needs to seriously overhaul its categorization system. But I digress.
Ferriss is the 4 Hour Work Week guy. I personally think his definition of "work" is a little iffy, but I agree with the general idea. There is too much information static in a given day and this sucks out every bit of productivity in a work day. I long for the days spent working at home, and not just because of the relaxed dress code (bunny slippers). I love working at home because I can actually WORK at home. I get things accomplished. I get code written that doesn't have to be debugged for days. I finish complex photo manipulation projects. I map out entire sites and don't miss huge sections.
The less I check my email, the more productive I am. I've completely given up on instant messaging. I downgraded to a regular cell phone (goodbye PDA) and opted for no data plan. The only news I get is from NPR on the drive to and from work. Facebook has become a necessity but I am working on wheening myself off of it. I am down to logging in 3-4 times a week and only for a few minutes at a time.
I won't pretend that I am shutting off the connection to technology or the web. I am simply coming to terms with the notion that just because I CAN do something, doesn't mean I SHOULD. So I am off to read the latest issue of Practical webdesign, complain about the lack of decent U.S. based tech/art magazines, and maybe, just maybe, check my email.
