#villagelife

Patchy internet connection over the last week or so meant that I had to embrace analogue past times. Cycling, walking, reading a newspaper on the patio, drinking excessive amounts of tea and coffee, thinking about the next year, swimming in the pool and baking cakes.

In the last week, I've become fixated about cows, geese, chickens and horses. I don't see farm animals very often on my little island, so observing the daily moves of a pair of calves was a fascinating experience. I've seen farmers calmly and patiently tending to their land and animals and it reminded me how simple life can be.

But the countryside is not only its flora and fauna, but also all those sleepy little towns and villages where even the butcher's is shut down during summer, where the only people out on the streets are a group of camp children with melting ice cream and some mildly drunk bearded men talking philosophy. Towns and villages with the loveliest women working at a post office and delicious freshly caught fish available at a scruffily looking fishmonger's. 

I'll make a quick visit to Warsaw this week and I'll be interested in the contrast with this idyllic village life and a business of a city. I am not a fan on the Polish capital, not only because it's hard to find such blissful peacefulness over there. But everything is good in moderation. And hopefully I'll get a chance to get a taste of its apparently buzzing vegan culinary scene.

Detox.

I'm spending holidays in the heart of the Polish countryside. The internet connection here is less than satisfactory to say the least and this prompted me to a reflection on the use of the internet.

I've read a number of articles by people who either ditched the internet completely for a prolonged period of time, or got rid off the internet from their house and only ever used it at work or when out and about.

Many claimed that they have become more thoughtful, more focused and generally felt more mentally healthy than when staying online. Some claimed that it was a tedious and not so beneficial an experiment, given that they felt isolated from normal life, which these days happens as much off- as on-line.

Before going on holidays, I've actually logged off Facebook on my phone and my laptop, so no notifications are coming through to me at the moment and I don't feel the urge to constantly scroll down my home page in search for something interesting to look at or read.

But going off the internet grid completely is not something that I am particularly keen on. I've lived for ages without Facebook account, but this was not sustainable: whether I like it or not, people do use Facebook to communicate with each other and I do want to be a part of it.

After an extensive read of different experiences of reducing internet use in one way or another, I've come up with a system that will allow me to reap the benefits, but hopefully also limit the negative effects of constant online presence.

Lo and behold, here it comes.

I liked the idea of getting rid of the internet from my house, but this is not feasible. What is actually doable is using the internet intentionally. So going on the internet with a well defined purpose, rather than freely roaming around. For instance, when I turned my laptop on to write this blog post, I knew that this is the main reason why I'm online. I also knew that I had to buy a few specific bits on ebay and check a few pieces of information. I've even produced a hand-written list of things that I want to do when I get a chance to be online. So being online has become something that I need to make the time for, rather than the default mode.

It's so easy to just reach for your phone these days and start aimlessly go through page after page of stuff that does not really enrich your life in any way. Instead, I finally have a chance to read newspapers, think about stuff, appreciate the nature and make the most of the time with my family. I do rely on the internet in many respects, Google Maps are extremely convenient for instance when you need to find the way quickly or when you need to find the nearest cafe serving crepes, but other than that I'm trying to take over the reigns of my internet use.

Once I'm back at work, I plan to have clearly defined times of internet use. No more binge watching Netflix shows or looking at shoes I'll never buy anyway. Instead, a defined slot of time with defined tasks to accomplish.

You might think that this is unduly restrictive, but the fact of the matter is that humans are wired to have restrictions. Our brains love structure. And this will provide me with a structure to get things done efficiently. I also hope that this little experiment of mine will also free up some space in my brain to do some proper thinking and really excel at what I'm doing. 

In any case, I treat this more or less forceful internet detox as a blessing. No, I can't have proper Skype conversation with Mr Magic, and no, I cannot watch even most enriching YouTube videos without constant interruption, but I read a lot, go on walks with my dog and appreciate the surroundings, which is impossible with out face stuck to the screen.

Don't fret, though, I'll be back next week, hopefully with some pictures of the beautiful Polish countryside.

I leave you with this quote from Gretchen Rubin:

Turn off your email; turn off your phone; disconnect from the Internet; figure out a way to set limits so you can concentrate when you need to, and disengage when you need to. Technology is a good servant but a bad master.

Finally reading for pleasure only !!!

For various complicated reasons I had to shut down my blog a few months ago, but here I come again, with slightly changed address, different background picture and a different colour scheme. Truly exciting times.

I've been out and about recently, collecting beautiful memories, taking ridiculous number of pictures and acquiring random items to remind me of all those places. When I was not out and about, I indulged myself in binge-watching Big Bang Theory, random art projects and solving logic puzzles. I'm also proud to announce that I'm about to finish reading Anna Karenina. I had my first go at reading this book when I was at first year at uni and since then I've made four attempts at it. This time, using my generous teacher holidays, I persevered till the end, despite extremely dull parts dwellings on agricultural theory of 19th century Russia. I still have War and Peace waiting on the window-sill, but I think it will need to wait until next summer (or summer after next): I'm not sure I'll be able to take such a big book again any time soon.

On the note of reading, I have to say that being busy all year with planning lessons, reading about education, marking and doing all the adulting stuff, I've forgot how enjoyable reading fiction (and not only), but most importantly reading exclusively for pleasure was. 

I've been devouring book after book recently. I've read The Shepherd's Crown by my beloved Terry Pratchett, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, then moved on to two randomly chosen books which turned out surprisingly enjoyable (The Knot by Mark Watson and The Truth by Michael Palin) and now with Anna Karenina almost finished, I'm moving away from fiction to Cal Newport's Deep work.

Now, that last book is a choice that was born through listening to some really interesting podcasts. The series is called You 2.0 and it really got me thinking about how I work and what I can do to make my work easier, more enjoyable and at the same time more efficient. You can listen to the podcasts here, I really do recommend them. I will probably write on the topic of reinventing yourself for a fuller life soon.

I'm glad I'm back on here now, I need a vent somewhere to release all those unruly thoughts that inevitably cloud my head, especially now that I have both time and headspace to do a lot of deep thinking. So brace yourself for a jolly good ride with me!

Till then!