I was thinking about calling this piece Take Back Your Mind but I didn’t notice that I’d lost control of mine until after I made certain changes. Even then, I have less emotional control than I think. Most of my inner life runs on autopilot.

 

The decision to avoid anonymous chat forums was relatively easy for me to make. The tone of the discussion was usually toxic and triggered negative emotions in me.

 

Listening to my internal chatter about Facebook was similar and I never liked the push nature of their email client. Why does a red number in a circle trigger such an urge to click through!

 

We like to think that we’re different but the click rates of sites like Facebook, People.Com, TMZ.com show us that drama is attractive. I tell myself that these sites don’t attract me but I’m more similar, than different, to my wife. The voyeur inside me isn’t that strong but I still have stories that I tell myself.

 

With the Internet, I tell myself that I have to stay plugged in because I need news for good decisions. It is essential to ‘stay informed’.

 

Another story I tell myself is that I have to connect via social networks to be successful in business and have friends.

 

Consider what you tell yourself.

 

What is the perceived payoff from constant connectivity?

 

Name one thing that would benefit your life, if you only had time.

 

I’ve been looking deeply at my Internet play book.

 

In October, I went the next step and paused triathlon sites as I was worn out by the willfully blind vs the hateful. In November, I added bicycling.com after Jens’ reasoned decision was one apologist too far for me. Three weeks later, I expanded to everything but The Onion. This leaves me getting my news via twitter trends and a daily news summary email. I’m

much better informed about Justin Beibler, which could be a good thing with two daughters…

 

When I’m tempted to plug in, I ask myself, what decisions do I need to make in 2013 and how best to stay informed?

 

Here they are:

 

What price to sell my old house – zillow

Leadville rent, buy or hotel – stay variable unless very compelling

Lex kindergarten early – either way likely ok

What preschool for Ax – google search and talk with my wife

 

None of the above has downside risk that could change my family’s life.

 

Move on hold until 48 – using short trips to sate the need to travel

 

Amazed at the amount of time on my hands by reducing my feeds. Just like when I stopped drinking.

 

Notifications

Auto notify

Push messages esp email

 

While it is embarrassing to consider the amount of time I used to spend on nothing… I’m probably not alone.

 

Choose Wisely.

 

Need less sleep

Changed icon location and browser on iPhone