The Best Time is Offline

Being offline does wonders to the mind and soul, especially now when we're spending most of our time at home.

Allow me to open with a song, it's part of my playlist for when I unwind..

24 and blooming like the fields of May

25 and yearning for a ticket out

Ever since the quarantine season started, I found myself being online way more often, since this is the way I could stay connected with people. This is also how I'm able to get my work done; catching up with my teammates here in Manila and collaborating with my counterparts in Japan. Well, the setup with my counterparts has long been this way ever since I started, so connecting online is part of my work.

A regular work (from home) day starts by logging in with my work laptop, then logging off at the end of the day, only to log in to either my cellphone or personal laptop. For quite some time this has been my arrangement, and it still continues to be. Somehow though, I noticed how the days just pass me by so quickly. I'm happy about it yet at the same time I wonder if I was able to make my time truly worthwhile throughout the day?

This was when I started to evaluate the time I spent online, and it led me to the decision to take one day off a week to not go online at all. It falls on either one of the days on the weekend. Just one day, out of all the seven days we have in a week, to disconnect.

It's also my effort to make time go by slowly, or rather, to somehow alter my own perception of time. Time offline lets my mind wander a bit, something I don't let myself do so much on a regular work (from home) day. But somehow practicing this makes creative ideas come more naturally, doesn't it?

It certainly is nice to not have to check my phone from time to time in anticipation of a message, email, or notification from any of my social media accounts. There's no ringing from a Zoom call, or a bell notification from Slack, which I admit gets me on my toes most of the time. My ears perk up and I know I have to check my work laptop, even if it's lunch time..

I have my days of having up to ten Zoom calls in a day. It's very tiring.

It's also a time to not feel the impulse of having to share something online, because in truth, we don't always have to. How nice it is, to keep some of our lives to ourselves, to treasure it on our own. I sometimes remember a moment more when I don't share it with anyone, or when I'm able to speak about it in person; the memory remains fresh, and it's always there for as long as you want for it to be. It's yours.

I have also rediscovered the magical wonder of taking naps. My own definition of a good nap ranges from two to three hours, with two being the minimum. I try not to go beyond three, or I might risk not being able to sleep later at night! It usually happens after lunch, or at three o'clock in the afternoon. In these times, I just try to zone out at first, then eventually close my eyes. Later on I wake up to the sun's golden hour rays filtering through my window. Or if it is a rainy afternoon, I'm awakened by the pitter patter of raindrops, the same ones that have lulled me to slumber.

It's also much easier to get the necessary things done. I first thought, if I had so much time, I'll be able to accomplish more things. But to try to fit in as much as I can in a day be draining, and there goes my tendency to unknowingly put pressure on myself. Instead, I would prefer thinking of what needs to be done, and to do these without rushing. Now that there's more time, I feel like I have more options, and it's ultimately up to me to filter and make sure I do value-adding activities. If I won't be able to finish something today, there is still tomorrow.

And since I can slow down, that means I can get even more immersed with the things I love doing. More time is taken in caring for my plants in the garden, more attention is given to the banana bread I'm baking, and more thought is given to what I'm writing. It is amazing how there can be "more" for valuable activities when there is less time for being online.

Then when there is more attention, there is also more self-awareness. Recently apart from my full time work, I have also been actively writing for my firm's newsletter, plus other writing projects entirely outside of my recruiting role. What I observed about myself is that, I would usually write first a blog entry before proceeding to writing an article. Not that I don't like the article I'm meant to write, but somehow writing a blog seems to me a very natural thing to do. So it is my hope to have that natural tone spill over to my article, and to write (as cheesy as it may sound) from the heart. After all, when something is done with careful intention, it will always be felt. It doesn't always have to be directly written or said.

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Happy Wednesday, dear reader. I'm taking two days off from work starting tomorrow, and I'm very, very excited about it! I may not be off to some foreign place, but it will surely allow me to take a pause from the daily grind and essentially rest.

The photos I used on this entry were back from when our plum tree was bearing much fruit. My parents and I took the time to pick from the tree, and I think I'll always remember such a time fondly, as I would often spend my time offline in this way, caring for our garden.

What are your favorite offline activities, or what are your thoughts on spending time off the grid?

Write to you again soon. : - )


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