Digital Sabbatical: What I learned

by Alex Patton | May 6, 2013 | Ozean Media

My digital sabbatical took place during the unnamed tropical storm this past weekend

For the past 4 days, I have been on a self-imposed digital sabbatical.

I decided to go on this sabbatical after a difficult month and especially trying week.

I am still not completely sure of nor can I fully explain why I felt the need to totally disconnect.

However, I knew deep down that I was tired and needed to be still so that I could think.  I know I needed the pinging to stop.

For my sabbatical, I checked into a beach condo on Thursday with plans for my wife and kids to join me after Friday work.

Digital Sabbatical Rules

Here were my rules:

• No smart-phone.
• No E-mails.
• No Phone calls (For emergencies, I gave my wife this number to this interesting invention I haven’t used in years….something called a land line).
• No Web.
• No Hulu, No Netflix.
• No Web Surfing.
• No Television.

I was NOT prepared for the difficulty that was involved with this sabbatical idea.

I checked into the Condo at about 10 am on Thursday and turned off my constant companion cell smartphone.  What have I done?  I thought about it, my cell phone hasn’t been turned off on purpose in years.

It took 5 minutes to move luggage into condo and look around.  It took another 3 minutes to feel the stress of my sabbatical decision.  No Email?  No Web?  Am I nuts?  What in the hell am I going to do now?

It started to rain.  I opened the door, listened to the surf, smelled the rain.  THAT was different.

I went to the grocery store to purchase supplies.  Wait a minute – no smart phone with a grocery list?  I had to go up and down the isles looking for things, and a funny thing happened:  I began to notice what fruit was fresh and smelled good versus what was on my list.  I noticed all the ingredients that I have never used in my cooking.  I read a label or 10.  Interesting.

I spent about 30 minutes more than I normally would in a grocery store just exploring.  I stopped and talked to the Veggie guy – what came in today?  I asked him if the automatic dispensing of artificial mist actually helped the veggies stay fresh or was it just for aesthetic reasons.  He didn’t know.  Interesting. I noticed the numerous Beach Bums with their tons of different accents and their too-leathery skin.  It was a strange collection of humans, some preparing to return North others complaining of the lack of sun.  All in all, an enjoyable trip to the grocery store that was…. fascinating.

Returned to the condo and unpacked.

NOW WHAT?

I started to do some work that I brought with me, but then I caught the pile of books I brought with me out of the corner of my eye.

In this pile, there was a book that I have been meaning to read for years, but just never found the motivation or the time.   I knew it was a classic, but I also knew it would be a slow slug.  I picked up my copy of  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig and dived in.

The book did not disappoint.  It was was a slow, deep, complex, slug-it-out kind of a read.  I haven’t experienced a book like it in years.  It took all my concentration, it took rereading passages,  it took time to close the book and consider what the author wrote.  Frankly, I am still processing some of what I read – this book is lingering in my head more than any book I have read in 20 years.  The book was a delightful challenge, and I never would or could have read it with constant background pinging.

I ran.  I ran in the rain and thought about what I was reading – thinking about Quality, my relationship with my children,  the difference between scientific reasoning and art, and various other, random, stream of consciousnesses thoughts.  In fact, I added 37 minutes to my normal running time without even noticing.  Didn’t care, but I noticed that I felt great.

Then it started.  The great unnamed tropical storm that hit Thursday evening, Friday morning.  The 10 inches of rain caused the Great Battle of 2013 versus the assorted evil roof leaks.  A small drip quickly escalated into an indoor rain.  The intense battle raged for hours.  Emptying buckets,   moving furniture, and moping were all instruments of my battle.  Trying to figure out where the leak was coming from and how to possibly stop the leak became my mission.  The battle raged until about 3 am.  Damndest thing: I found myself enjoying the ridiculousness of this experience: the wind was howling, it smelled different,  the waves raged and I just went with it.  In the end, I lost this battle.

My wife and family decided not to join me in the flooded condo, and I don’t blame them.  I did notice that I was stuck and couldn’t get out.   The road leading into the condo had funneled all the water into the exit road.  I found myself wondering how deep it was, so I waded into it as a funny thought came to me, “The water is about 18 inches deep and I am a 40 year old man playing in the rain.”

I found myself playing in the rain

I read some more.  Two additional books: one the regulation of the Internet and another on the importance of focus in business.

As soon as the roads cleared Saturday morning, I returned home, and during the hour and half trip – silence.  No pings, no anxiety about the phone ringing, no news.  It was nice.

The digital sabbatical continued for another 48 hours, but the effects remained the same.

Sabbatical Conclusion

After my initial shock and bewilderment, my time was filled with different things that either I had forgotten how much I enjoyed or filled with new things that I had been meaning to try or get to.

In the end, I feel refreshed and a little bit more in control of the pings, the alerts, and the URGENT messages.

I would highly suggest that you try a digital sabbatical, and let me know how it goes.