I like meditation retreats as a "recharge" but all too often I just return to my usual bullshit the second I return. This weekly tech sabbath feels like a more integrated approach to limiting technology. My ritual is a daily unplugged walk, typically first thing in the morning through the park. It's usually my favorite part of each day. A full day sabbath seems challenging but possible to sustain, which is the sweet spot.
Nice Warren Zevon connection. On a related note, his final interview was with David Letterman while Warren, who had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that had spread through his body, reflected on his life as he approached death. Letterman asked him if there was anything Warren knew about death now that he was staring straight at it. Warren said "enjoy every sandwich". A few decades later I lay in a hospital bed for several days reflecting on my own mortality. I didn't have any major revalations, I just kept thinking about how I really wanted to be in the morning sunlight drinking a nice foamy cappucino and then I remembered that Warren Zevon quote about enjoying every sandwich. Maybe that's a revalation in itself.
Modern yuppie society has gamified so many aspects of life, tensely analyzing our sleep scores, Twitter engagement, and even mental wellbeing, but at the end of the day what really matters are moments in time. I like the idea of a tech sabbath. That said, I'd also challenge the intent behind it and make sure it isn't just another method of striving.
In a society that values productivity above all else, slow living is rebellion, and to rebel means opening yourself up to a barrage of criticism from the predominant culture, who will see you as lazy and "unproductive". John Steinbeck wrote about it in 1945: "[Local bums] Mack and the boys avoid the trap, walk around the poison, step over the noose while a generation of trapped, poisoned, and trussed-up men scream at them and call them no-goods". David Goggins would likely scoff at relaxing with a coffee for a long slow morning or taking the time to really enjoy a sandwich. David Goggins is also probably miserable, productive as he might be.
Hunter S Thompson put it even more succinctly in 1960: "Say 'No' to San Francisco and be rich".
Looking forward to hearing more as you continue your tech sabbatical.
"at the end of the day what really matters are moments in time" – I absolutely love this sentiment and very much feel this way when I think about how I want to spend my time on this earth. there's something beautiful about just being still with time during the sabbath
as life has gotten crazy the last few months, I've certainly found myself resisting doing a sabbath in the face of everything that "needs to get done" – I think that's usually when I need it the most
there's a sentiment in the Nordic countries called a "quiet happiness." it makes me think of the contrast we have in US with our loud happiness and loud productive. the tech sabbath feels like quiet happiness
a thought i had while reading - chinese culture has been wrestling with some version of hustle culture for 1500 years, when imperial examinations started
its obvious, in retrospect, that their wisdom traditions would have meaningful antidotes to the modern condition
(and obviously as my lifestyle indicates, i resonate deeply haha)
that's a really great point – interestingly, it feels like imperial exams were contained to the "fortunate" and largely wealthy back then while modern hustle culture feels so pervasive now
One thing worth considering is the difference between the strategy of having an interstitial period of un-plugging (i.e. a weekend 'unplugged' warrior) vs an integrated daily unplugged lifestyle. While, the former is more valuable than a life that's 24/7 device-dependent, it emitsthe low thrum of a binge/purge pattern - coming up for air on the weekends, only to submerge oneself back in a toxic lifestyle come Monday. The latter strategy is a daily integration into a lifestyle. Here's an example of how it can prove successful for a more spiritually nourishing life.
I live in Brooklyn, and work out of coffee shops in NoHo. When I walk the streets of Manhattan on my working weekdays, I've noticed something quite shocking as a millenial - perhaps the majority of women (I see less men doing this, but they commit the same offense in non-trivial numbers) under 30 with headphones on, or looking into their phone, or talking on the phone - in other words, being mentally disconnected from where their physical body is.
I met my girlfriend in a clothing store seven years ago. We met because neither of us were on our devices, we were present, and we crossed paths in the same clothing aisle, and started chatting. If she had her headphones on, we likely wouldn't have met. That was the single best opportunity I have ever had in my life, and when the moment came, both of us were there to seize it. The number of missed connections in our daily lives, romantic, friendly, and otherwise symbiotic (I also found my career by a random interaction with a guy on the streets of SF who happened to be a tech CEO) are devoured by our devices on a daily basis. Tactics as simple as putting your phone down when eating a meal, or walking, and noticing ones surroundings changes everything for one's quality of life, and deriving real meaning in the world. The most important parts of my life only exist because I am not checking my phone in public settings in my down time.
I went to a Sweetgreen yesterday, and the woman sitting next to me, exceptionally, was not on her phone. So I asked her about the scrubs she was wearing, which led to a lovely conversation where we learned about each other's lives. We parted ways, not exchanging anything besides a pleasant momentary connection and dialogue, creating not economic riches, but spiritual riches. This is a daily practice which I would pitch as worth considering when cooking up a prescriptive recipe for greater life success.
Yanik – beautiful reflections, thanks for sharing!
"If she had her headphones on, we likely wouldn't have met. That was the single best opportunity I have ever had in my life, and when the moment came, both of us were there to seize it" this resonates with me in particular as I think about all the "missed" opportunities in our lives that have resulted with our discomfort with being in the present moment. we live in a paradigm where we're reticent to be alone with the silence of our thoughts
how beautiful daily life might be if we all strove to put down our phones, connect deeply with ourselves and in turn, connect into the world around us
Thanks, Cissy. I'll check out your reflections. We didn't have internet except when in ports on our recent voyage to Alaska, and I loved not feeling a tug towards distraction. It's very good to take a tech sabbath.
I like meditation retreats as a "recharge" but all too often I just return to my usual bullshit the second I return. This weekly tech sabbath feels like a more integrated approach to limiting technology. My ritual is a daily unplugged walk, typically first thing in the morning through the park. It's usually my favorite part of each day. A full day sabbath seems challenging but possible to sustain, which is the sweet spot.
Nice Warren Zevon connection. On a related note, his final interview was with David Letterman while Warren, who had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that had spread through his body, reflected on his life as he approached death. Letterman asked him if there was anything Warren knew about death now that he was staring straight at it. Warren said "enjoy every sandwich". A few decades later I lay in a hospital bed for several days reflecting on my own mortality. I didn't have any major revalations, I just kept thinking about how I really wanted to be in the morning sunlight drinking a nice foamy cappucino and then I remembered that Warren Zevon quote about enjoying every sandwich. Maybe that's a revalation in itself.
Modern yuppie society has gamified so many aspects of life, tensely analyzing our sleep scores, Twitter engagement, and even mental wellbeing, but at the end of the day what really matters are moments in time. I like the idea of a tech sabbath. That said, I'd also challenge the intent behind it and make sure it isn't just another method of striving.
In a society that values productivity above all else, slow living is rebellion, and to rebel means opening yourself up to a barrage of criticism from the predominant culture, who will see you as lazy and "unproductive". John Steinbeck wrote about it in 1945: "[Local bums] Mack and the boys avoid the trap, walk around the poison, step over the noose while a generation of trapped, poisoned, and trussed-up men scream at them and call them no-goods". David Goggins would likely scoff at relaxing with a coffee for a long slow morning or taking the time to really enjoy a sandwich. David Goggins is also probably miserable, productive as he might be.
Hunter S Thompson put it even more succinctly in 1960: "Say 'No' to San Francisco and be rich".
Looking forward to hearing more as you continue your tech sabbatical.
Don – thanks for these beautiful reflections 🙏🏼
"at the end of the day what really matters are moments in time" – I absolutely love this sentiment and very much feel this way when I think about how I want to spend my time on this earth. there's something beautiful about just being still with time during the sabbath
as life has gotten crazy the last few months, I've certainly found myself resisting doing a sabbath in the face of everything that "needs to get done" – I think that's usually when I need it the most
there's a sentiment in the Nordic countries called a "quiet happiness." it makes me think of the contrast we have in US with our loud happiness and loud productive. the tech sabbath feels like quiet happiness
a thought i had while reading - chinese culture has been wrestling with some version of hustle culture for 1500 years, when imperial examinations started
its obvious, in retrospect, that their wisdom traditions would have meaningful antidotes to the modern condition
(and obviously as my lifestyle indicates, i resonate deeply haha)
that's a really great point – interestingly, it feels like imperial exams were contained to the "fortunate" and largely wealthy back then while modern hustle culture feels so pervasive now
One thing worth considering is the difference between the strategy of having an interstitial period of un-plugging (i.e. a weekend 'unplugged' warrior) vs an integrated daily unplugged lifestyle. While, the former is more valuable than a life that's 24/7 device-dependent, it emitsthe low thrum of a binge/purge pattern - coming up for air on the weekends, only to submerge oneself back in a toxic lifestyle come Monday. The latter strategy is a daily integration into a lifestyle. Here's an example of how it can prove successful for a more spiritually nourishing life.
I live in Brooklyn, and work out of coffee shops in NoHo. When I walk the streets of Manhattan on my working weekdays, I've noticed something quite shocking as a millenial - perhaps the majority of women (I see less men doing this, but they commit the same offense in non-trivial numbers) under 30 with headphones on, or looking into their phone, or talking on the phone - in other words, being mentally disconnected from where their physical body is.
I met my girlfriend in a clothing store seven years ago. We met because neither of us were on our devices, we were present, and we crossed paths in the same clothing aisle, and started chatting. If she had her headphones on, we likely wouldn't have met. That was the single best opportunity I have ever had in my life, and when the moment came, both of us were there to seize it. The number of missed connections in our daily lives, romantic, friendly, and otherwise symbiotic (I also found my career by a random interaction with a guy on the streets of SF who happened to be a tech CEO) are devoured by our devices on a daily basis. Tactics as simple as putting your phone down when eating a meal, or walking, and noticing ones surroundings changes everything for one's quality of life, and deriving real meaning in the world. The most important parts of my life only exist because I am not checking my phone in public settings in my down time.
I went to a Sweetgreen yesterday, and the woman sitting next to me, exceptionally, was not on her phone. So I asked her about the scrubs she was wearing, which led to a lovely conversation where we learned about each other's lives. We parted ways, not exchanging anything besides a pleasant momentary connection and dialogue, creating not economic riches, but spiritual riches. This is a daily practice which I would pitch as worth considering when cooking up a prescriptive recipe for greater life success.
Yanik – beautiful reflections, thanks for sharing!
"If she had her headphones on, we likely wouldn't have met. That was the single best opportunity I have ever had in my life, and when the moment came, both of us were there to seize it" this resonates with me in particular as I think about all the "missed" opportunities in our lives that have resulted with our discomfort with being in the present moment. we live in a paradigm where we're reticent to be alone with the silence of our thoughts
how beautiful daily life might be if we all strove to put down our phones, connect deeply with ourselves and in turn, connect into the world around us
Excellent article. I will read it again in the future. Thank you. Working on unplugging more often!!
glad to hear it resonated! just ran my first tech sabbath and it was so meaningful :)
some reflections here: https://x.com/cissyrxhu/status/1815456738784800857
Thanks, Cissy. I'll check out your reflections. We didn't have internet except when in ports on our recent voyage to Alaska, and I loved not feeling a tug towards distraction. It's very good to take a tech sabbath.