The average American spends 95 percent of their life indoors.
—from The Path Ahead: the future of life outdoors
In my June 8 post, I wrote about the REI report, The Path Ahead, and led in to the post with this quote from the report: “Without realizing it, we are becoming the world’s first indoor species. I’m revisiting The Path Ahead today and encouraging you to revisit it as well. I ended that post with a suggestion to consider how we might make some small, conscious tweaks in how we’re living this summer that will bump us more towards outdoor species than indoor species. Emphasis on small, conscious tweaks.
I shared in last week’s post that I was working with an iOS app called Moment to help me become more conscious of how I was using my phone and how much time I was spending on it. I’m 2 hours and 36 minutes below the average in hours per day spent-on-phone by other Moment users (no bragging here—I make up for that on my computer).
I promised I’d report back. After just the first day, I noticed myself noticing. There I was reaching for my phone and I paused mid-reach. Working with the Bored & Brilliant Coach in the Moment app (free version), I reclaimed ~52 minutes a day over the seven days of the challenge. I said I’d cook. I did. I made an awesome dahl and shared it with my friend Odile. I said I’d have tea with friends. Well…does coffee count? I’m going to say Yes.
But there was something I didn’t anticipate in advance that I would do with those reclaimed moments—I stepped outside to just sit and listen to the birds, and to eat my breakfast. It’s a small but significant tweak that has contributed immensely to my well-being this past week. And my dog Keira was delighted!
Speaking of well-being, I’ll be changing up the format of the Mindful Digital Life post Friday, the 20th and 27th. I’m focusing on quality time with family and friends, maximizing conversation, time outdoors, and play. Look for something a little different.
Here’s an invitation: Reach out and tell me you read The Path Ahead and made it a focus of a family Mindful Digital Life conversation. I’ll schedule a call with you in August to talk about your personal and family successes and challenges with inhabiting the outdoor species side of the continuum.
Do you listen to podcasts? I’m talking with Justine Toms on the New Dimensions Café on the topic of Choiceful Attention in a Digital World. You can listen to it streamed here or subscribe to New Dimensions Café on iTunes (it’s 15 minutes long).
What I am reading: I’ve been enjoying the website Fatherly. I appreciated this post by father Cameron LeBlanc, Why I Bought My Kid a Smartphone and Don’t Regret It. I’m not suggesting your rush out and buy a phone for your child. Take it as food for thought. I like his candor. It’s valuable to hear a range of approaches to this new rite of passage. I think it can help you to clarify your own unique approach.
