Fasting: Going Tech Free Once A Week.

In case you haven’t noticed, there seems to be about a million “simplicity” blogs launched every single day. Seems that more and more people want to slow down, live purposely, and declutter their lives. I totally understand where they are coming from, believe me! However, there is one thing that seems to actually be increasing the noise in our lives – technology. Cellphones, laptops, iPads, TV, blogs, Tumblrs, Facebook, Twitter, GBuzz, navigation units – you name it and our lives are surrounded by technology. I am not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, as I make my living because of this technology. But sometimes it gets to be too much, and because of that I have decided to take 1 day off a week from it all. No TV, no computers, no cellphones, no nothing. A while back I left my home for the day without my cellphone, and it was the most amazing feeling to be that free! No one could call me, and there was no checking my email, my Twitter stream, or my Facebook page. Hallelujah! It was so great to actually be experiencing what I was doing instead of staring down at a computer screen.

Thus, my technology fast began.

It’s not always perfect – sometimes I need to break it to take care of something, and sometimes I forget that I was even doing it. But for the most part, I stick to it. And it gives my mind a break from the constant bombardment of information, information, and more information. It cannot be healthy to be constantly “connected” like we are!

So, my suggestion to you – in your quest to declutter, slow down, and simplify – take a tech break every once in a while. Turn it all off for a day. Leave the house without a cellphone. Remember when you used to be able to do that, and if you didn’t answer the phone people just left you a message? Try it for a day. You may be pleasantly surprised at the experience.

10 Things Challenge – Week Twelve.

OK, so a few weeks ago I wrote Week 11 of this series when I was getting rid of 34 books from my bookcase. This alone was pretty good news and I was pretty happy with my accomplishment. However, soon after I finished bagging those books up, I went crazy… in a good way. I went back to the bookcase and pulled another 31 books out of it to get rid of! I now have only 4 of those squares in my bookcase full of books; I guess it’s time to get rid of the case itself, huh? But, it gets even better – I then pulled everything out of my office closet and methodically went through it all, removing the following items I am getting rid of this week:

- An electric guitar I haven’t played in years
- A stand up fan
- A portable cd/tape player
- A rubber horseshoe set
- A wooden wall clock
- 2 model cars
- 2 shoeboxes full of cables/cords/adapters
- An over-the-door hanger
- A walking stick I made myself but have no need for
- A shoebox full of 4-track tapes from my days of being in bands
- 2 curtains
- 5.1 surround speakers I no longer use

All this “stuff” doesn’t seem like that much when it’s all put away in boxes, closets, and shelves. But once you start piling it up in the middle of a room it seems like a lot more. I looked at my 5 bags of books and all this other stuff and realized that I had paid to move it all here to my new apartment only to now be getting rid of it. I thought I had gotten rid of all unnecessary stuff back in New Mexico, but I guess not! It really is amazing how much crap we lug around “just in case”, isn’t it? I am on a quest to get rid of everything in my house that I don’t use on a weekly basis, and so far so good.

Are you still doing the 10 Things Challenge? Seems I have accidentally turned it into a 50+ Things Challenge but hey – who’s counting? Next week I will tell you about what I did to my master bedroom closet, so stay tuned!

Writing Out Your Very Own Personal “To-Do” List.

This is the first year of the rest of my life. Or so I keep telling myself. For the last couple of years I have been in a constant state of flux – 2 major moves to different states, cancer, a brush with leukemia, a divorce, and the death of a cat I have had since college. In all ways, I am pretty much starting over. And while it has been very difficult at times, I am doing my best to try to try to make the best of it. One of the things I am doing is creating my own personal “To-Do” list of things I want to do in/with/for my life. As my post the other day said – “Live How YOU Want To Or How THEY Want You To – Your Choice.”

I am choosing to live how I want from here on out, with minimum distraction from the naysayers and doubters.

When I sat down to start making my list, I thought back to when I was a teenager. I tried to remember some of the dreams and desires I had 20 years ago, which I wanted to do “when I was a grown up”. I thought back to my 20’s, after graduating college, and tried to imagine what my rebellious 25 year old self would be telling my now 37 year old self about his choices and/or decisions in life. I thought about this past year and about all the things I have thought I wanted to get done before I am 40. And I started writing. Some are easy, almost “New Years Resolution” types, while others require long-term planning. Anything I could remember that I had wanted to do or accomplish in my life went down on this preliminary list. After a while, it was pretty long – and full of some good and VERY bad ideas. Some items I have known all along and some I had completely forgotten about. Once I went through and crossed out the stupid stuff that I knew I would never, ever do even if I wanted to, I was left with a pretty decent To-Do life list.

And just last week, I crossed the first one on the list off by getting my first tattoo.

So what else is on the list? Well, I will tell you a few of the things but most of them are going to remain private for me and myself alone.

- Learn to correctly ride a motorcycle by taking safety classes, get my motorcycle license, and buy a Ducati.

- Get rid of most of the books in my bookcase (only a few left. I added another 30 to my list the other day)

- Look into selling my Subaru and getting something smaller and more fuel-efficient – or nothing at all.

- However, while doing that, I have always wanted a muscle car. So, will contemplate that as well

- Start an actual exercise routine and stick to it

- Go back and finish the book I started writing a few years ago

- Get back on a skateboard again. Of course, if I look like an ass, please let me know.

- Move to a smaller, simpler apartment in a more walkable neighborhood

- Spend more than a few weeks living in Europe

- Not care, at all, what others think of me. No more judgment will get under my skin

This is it – your one and only shot at your life. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. And I don’t want to be one of those people who at 70 years old looks back and says “Why didn’t I…. ?” Your time is now, so if there is something you want to do or someone you want to be, now is the time to start doing on it. Tomorrow may never come, so make the most of today and live your own life how you want it to be.