I am an individual who not only spends 40 hours a week using technology but for many weeks I can add several more after I get home from work. This presents a potential problem in that my mind is always focused on or around technology. I carry a smart phone, have an e-reader, use a laptop at work, and have a laptop at home. I monitor several websites and am constantly tweaking and editing sites. It is easy to become controlled by technology. Can you relate?
A great way to ensure that your life is not controlled by the ever present tech in your house you might want to consider a technology fast. This can take on several forms and here are just a few suggestions.
The tech basket when coming home can be a great way to illustrate to your family that you mean to focus on them when you get home and not on the next email. This idea is just about making a basket or box of some sort and placing it in and area where you can drop your tech when you arrive home. It can be a great teaching tool for you family.
Setting aside a specific time of each day or week to take a tech fast is another option to consider. maybe it isn’t possible to ignore all technology when you come home, but you could set aside a day or specific time of each day to put the tech aside. You could incorporate the tech basket with the weekly or daily fast and again show your family that your are serious about focusing on them.
Here’s another idea for you…no tech in the car. We shouldn’t be texting in the car anyway, but maybe you have the habit of texting while riding in the car while going somewhere. The time you spend going from place to place is a great time to communicate and get caught up.
Let me take the opportunity to encourage those who read this post to ensure you are considering the serious risk of texting in the car. It seems to be a complete impossibility to drive a vehicle safely and communicate through text messaging. It not only is a danger to you but is a danger to those around you!! The other day I watched Extreme Home Makeover and was struck by the needless death of a teenager due to texting and driving. I decided to take a pledge myself not to text and drive and I would encourage you to do the same. You can find the pledge by clicking
here.
The point of fasting is simple to ensure that we are not controlled by the technology that we use in our lives but rather be in control of it. Is technology controlling you? Don’t wait until the next massive power and networks outage to find out how dependent you are on your devices. We have real people in our lives who need real people to interact with them, face to face.
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