Back To The Stone Age?

This past month has been filled with natural disasters that have left many of us crippled without cell phone service, electricity, hot water, and internet. Others have been even less fortunate experiencing floods in their basements and trees falling on their roofs. The things that we have been taking for granted, such as the stable ground under our feet, have been shaken. These tragedies are a true test of our dependence on a modern day lifestyle. Most people can survive a day or two without electricity, but then it gets old. We like to use our microwaves, electric stoves, and refrigerators for food preparation and storage. Many of us have phones that must be blugged in and charged. Some houses only have digital clocks. After a couple days you can only live off of nonperisable food items, there is no longer a simple method of communication with individuals outside your home, and you can't even tell what time it is because you have no clock to refer to. To some of us, these last weeks have felt like going back to the Stone Age.

Now as important as it is to be able to store nonperishable food items and to be able to take a warm shower, what really worried me with these natural disasters was the combination of power outages, cellphone tower damages, and lack of internet access. All of a sudden our technology and basic modes of access to the world were taken away from us. Many businesses cannot function without these staple services. Call centers were down, remote support was down, and simple services such as email were not accessible. Businesses have taken steps towards being able to function during floods or snow storms, yet most of these approaches have made them more dependent on technology. Take telework as an example. This is not possible without access to internet and cellular data networks.

So where do we go from here? What can we take from our recent experiences? The first thing I notice when I have no power is that I have a lot of time on my hands. I can't watch television and there is no browsing on facebook or linkedIN. We don't get many opportunities to be alone with our thoughts—or to be alone with our families. Many of my friends complained about boredom when they couldn't plug themselves into a piece of technology last week. We have become dependent on constant noise. This noise has become an addiction.

Now that we are plugged back into the noise, we should not forget the lessons learned while we were away from it. Recenlty, I read an article that explained the importance of “boredom” to our creativity. Since we are always jumping from one thing to the next, we do not take the time to think and relfect. Boredom is key for the development of ideas. In a world where we juggle complex and elaborate businesses with family life and hobbies, creativity is essential. The mind needs time to process the information that it is fed constantly. Here are some applications form our brief feeling of being in the Stone Age:

• Turn off the cell phone for an hour.

• Go outside to walk the dog or to go for a run—without your ipod.

• Sit down at the dining table for a meal with your family—no cell phones at the table.

• Meet with coworkers and talk about something other than work.

• Take the kids outside away from the television and gamesystems.

• Take a class in the arts. This can be anything from learning how to play the guitar to making pottery.

• Don't leave the TV playing in the background when you are spending time with guests or family.

• Be intentional with building relationships outside of facebook and linkedIN.

• Say no. It can be hard but we can't do everything. When our schedules fill up, there is not time to sit back, take a break, or reflect.

• Take a vacation. Even if you squeeze in one day here or there throughout the year, it is essential to get away from the daily and weekly routines of life.

• Get some exercize by going on a hike, playing a game of soccer, or going for a swim. If exercise is paired with fun, we get a lot more out of it than just burning calories.

• Finally, go to bed early once in a while. Skip your TV show and use your creative mind to reflect before you fall asleep.

Some of these ideas may seem absurd in today's age of fast paced life. They may even seem impossible with all the things that you have to get done in one day. The key is to block out chunks of time to enjoy what we have and to let our potential flourish. Cut out the noise. It's not so bad! It's not like we're going back to the Stone Age.