The Underlying Blog

The Year of Amish Recruitment: 3 Tips to Fight Future Shock

I've noticed something in 2007: A lot of people making jokes to me about ditching all of their technology, a great deal more than in 2005 or 2006. Could it be the stress of upgrading to Windows Vista, could it be the technology has turned into the Glenn Close stalker from Fatal Attraction?

As I live an hour away from one of the largest Amish communities in the United States, the temptation is EXTREME for me.

And I've got to admit folks, even after releasing a system of life management, VSS, I feel it sometimes too, the desire to go to something simpler and something more pure. Like damn, are we becoming the Borg?

I even get sick of the efficiency of GTD sometimes. Remember when crap used to just go into a big pile... And you kept on ignoring it even when forest creatures made homes in it? Do I see torches and pitchforks in the distance?

Strange world, that those I speak to, Early Adopters on any scale, would reminisce of a simpler time. Is it future shock, or are we finally noticing that there is NO GOING BACK? I think it's the latter.

So, here are 3 tips to fight the shock of no going back:

1. Turn it ALL off on Saturday or Sunday. I know, it follows you, so pick a day and broadcast ferociously to always on co-workers that you're gone on Saturday/Sunday. Seriously, create the space in your life for one day to yourself or with loved ones, where the technology truly doesn't find you. You may just get frisky or find inner-peace... UNINTERRUPTED!!! To put it succinctly, the online world can go to hell one day a week.
2. Check e-mail on your terms, not theirs. I've seen numerous bloggers over the years recommend you turn off Outlook e-mail notifications, and they're all right. And Crackberries... they're great, but the same rules need to apply, even more so. Of all the people who venture toward the edge of Stephen King's classic line from The Shining movie: 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', the Crackberry addicts teeter the most toward drone oblivion.
3. Use a Moleskine to record your thoughts. My buddy Mark Hollander put me onto this, and I'd still say it's the closest I come to feeling like Thoreau at Walden Pond. Sorry Tablet makers, you just haven't come close yet.

And here's a little humor for you that was forwarded on to me from Rob Wendt:

Still want more humor / fascinating-from-nowhere reading, check out Heisenberg Fridays by Walter Terry at ROICopy.

Technorati tags: Technology, Future Shock, GTD, Blackberry, Crackberry, Stephen King, The Shining, Amish, Mark Hollander, Rob Wendt, Fatal Attraction, Gyronix, ResultsManager, MindManager, Visual Strategist, Visual Strategist Solution, VSS, Walter Terry, ROI Copywriting, Henry Thoreau, Walden Pond, Tablet PC, Mindjet

The Ever-Underappreciated Brain Gets Some Recognition

The Innovation Tools Weblog recently covered a presentation at the Innovation Strategies Summit called "Know Your Brain", which you can read about here.  Personally, I'm glad to see 'know thyself' is still an idea virus in the 21st century ;).

I've always thought the brain is somewhat underappreciated when compared with the magnitude of responsibilities it has in all of our lives.  It's well documented as huge bodies of information have been generated around it, but there still doesn't seem to be a great deal of mass understanding about how we think and relate to eachother. 

Here's a parting thought: In 200 years, will they (yes, 'They' will be wearing white jump suits as fashion is always dead in the future) look back at the concept of 'Evil' as a bogeyman we used to make up for our lack of understanding surrounding inefficiencies and faulty wiring in the brain?