The last few weeks were an interesting experiment in digital detox. I limited my YouTube usage to audio and podcasts. I've uninstalled Facebook and Instagram since some time now already. And I switched off the TV. No Netflix, no streaming, no YouTube on TV, no shorts. But the question then was - what do I do in my free time?
I spent more time with my wife, played cards, worked out, got in some laps in the pool, met friends . . . And most importantly, I rediscovered the joy of reading.
When I was a kid, I used to devour a book a day. My mom would get a book from the library of the school she taught in, and I'd give it back to her the next day when she went off to work. Some days I'd accompany her to the library to sit and read while she taught her classes.
Through the years, reading became all about work, articles, news. I had a mental block, if I wanted to read, it should be about something intellectual, something highbrow. And in that self-imposed quest, I stopped reading altogether. For the last couple of weeks, I decided to change a key mental model. I didn't want highbrow. I didn't want to improve my mind. I wanted to replace the TV. Which meant my requirements from books were totally different. I wanted page turners, entertainers. I wanted books that would keep me engaged. That's when I turned to my favorite genre - science fiction. I started off small. I selected novellas under 150 pages - T. Kingfisher, John W. Campbell Jr, Brian Evenson. Then I moved on to novels made into movies or shows - Richard Connell, Freida McFadden, Blake Crouch. Page turners, thrillers.
Across these two weeks, I also noted down my experiences. And it's been a revelation in terms of how adaptable our brains are. At first, reading for more than 10 minutes was difficult. I kept thinking of the phone, the TV, my notifications. I stuck through this phase though. As my brain adapted, it took over the job of the idiot box.
My ability to build an image about the words on a page (my Kindle in my case) improved. In the early stages, I had to read slowly, twice to visualize what the author was describing. As it became easier, I was able to read for an hour at a time. And then a certain tipping point came when this newly rediscovered ability replaced the television. I noticed that I was building rich images in my brain about what I was reading. The author's descriptions jumped off the pages and created strong images in my mind's eye! I was loving this.
My ability to focus improved too. In the early phase, it was impossible to sit in front of the TV and read a book. If my wife was watching the television, I simply couldn't focus. The audio would keep impinging into my attention. I'd keep looking up at the screen and following the story. As I progressed though, I was able to tune out background noises! The television stopped intruding into my attention-space. Now I'm able to sit in my usual spot while my better half watches television and I'm able to still fully immerse myself in whatever I'm reading.
It took two weeks to break (or at least begin to break) a years-long digital habit, but trading the idiot box for a page-turner has been one of the best mental resets I’ve ever done. I don't think the solution is banishing screens from my life entirely, I think it's about intentionality. The TV might eventually make its way back into my free time, but it will be a choice, not a reflex. Until then, I've got a backlog of great stories and genres to catch up on before I reach for the remote!
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