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Being without a computer

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For the last week I have not had a computer. My computer experienced some issues with its graphics card and now is in the shop getting repaired. For this day and age most would not know what do with themselves, I may be wrong about that but from what I can say is that not having a computer for this amount time as been freeing. Yes, I still have an iPhone and an iPad ( from where I am writing this post) but not having a computer has taught and reminded me of these lessons.

1. A digital break is needed from time to time.

We are constantly connected to Internet. And I think this can weigh on you after hours and days of being connected. So from time to time a break is needed to recharge and find balance. Not having a computer and the difficulty of using the iPhone and iPad in doing work has lead me to do other more productive things like catch up on my reading. And this has been nothing short of awesome. It makes you show down and relax. So give yourself a day or two to step away from the computer and do something that is not required.

2. Life slows down

When we are constantly connected to the Internet we lose track of what going around and we waste a lot of time. For example a 5 minute check and Facebook usually turns to an hour of checking pictures and status updates of our friends. And we get sucked in and lose productivity time. But in the opposite when you spend your time more wisely like reading and hanging out with family time slows down and is more fulfilling. The experience between the two is completely different and adds more value to your life. So get off the computer and enjoy the pleasures of life outside the computer. Paradise is found outside the screen.

3. You pay more attention to your surroundings.

When you aren’t getting sucked in and bothered by what going on the Internet you start to notice the things around you and learn to appreciate them. Instead of seeing the beautiful things that on screen you start to see the beauty that is simply outside your door and window. And instead of lusting of going to those places you realized that their is profound beauty right in your own neighborhood.

4. Life is better in real life than on “Facebook.”

When scanning the pictures an status updates that people post on Facebook life looks all good and Tandy but also in the opposite life can look really negative. The thing to realize is that these are simply not the total reality of life. I will admit that I only share the good things that occur in my life and keep the more negative and personal stuff offline which is where I believe they belong. But when you don’t pay attention to these things and actually spend time with people in person you see that life is really good and real.

5. I rather be doing something not involving the computer.

There is a whole world out there that is calling for exploration. When you sit in front of a computer planning, you are simply just doing that planning instead of living the life that you want to live. Yes you need to plan but sometimes the best things to do is simply just do it and see where it takes you. Life is better experienced through mistakes than trying to plan for them. Things don’t get interesting until so,etching goes wrong and you have to figure slash dig yourself out of the situation. Yes it may be uncomfortable but it is worth all of the time and effort you put on it. The problem is when you plan with a computer you actually spend more time planning and digging up facts that don’t make sense. Because jokingly everything you read on the Internet is real, right?! If that were true the lives that people portray would be real and they would be living the happy lives they present. But that is far from reality. Life is like a roller coaster there are ups and downs and that’s just the truth. Life doesn’t happy in just the highs but happens throughout the highs and lows.

The five lessons are just a few of the things I learned while not having a computer. Yes, it does makes some task difficult but it also relieves you of some the stresses that the Internet actually causes you. I don’t want to be overalls pessimistic about all this and make that being on the computer all the time is bad. I just want to share some thoughts on how a break from the screen from time to time can make your life more balance and you can have the opportunity to life the life that you want to life.

So simply remember this, when things start getting stressful while on the computer simply step way and find another fun and productive thing to do.

Hello Again…Oliver the Blogger

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Hi!

I’m back once again.  I don’t know if this is going to be a short lived blogging session.  I have failed multiple times before when I try to do a blog post.  I don’t know what it is that keeps me from blogging more often.  I guess I do but I’m more timid to admit it to myself. The thing is I get lazy when it comes to blogging.  There’s just a lot of things that go in my head when type up that blog that I lose my thoughts.  Then I second guess myself about what I just typed up.  And now I have to reread what I just typed.  And when that is all said and done I sit there thinking if I should post what I just type out and share it.

I have friends that have said that I should just ship it no matter what.  However for me I just have that really hard time sharing something that isn’t just right.  You know?  I know what I’m going through isn’t unique by a long shot but it is something that I go through every time.  So I don’t know.

And I guess, the most frustrating thing is that when I am in the mood to blog, the timing is just off.  It usually happens when I’m work.  I know, I know that I should either do it early in the morning or later in the day but the thing is that I just can’t.  From waking up early to type out my thoughts to typing them out later, it just doesn’t work.  I get distracted way to easily right now.  I don’t have that headspace to do it.  Excuses, excuses, excuses, I know.  But what’s a guy to do.  I should just suck it up and deal with it but I think that is a cop out too.  Because what it does, I believe changes the dynamic of whatever it is that I am posting.

For example, right now, things are flowing fairly well.  I’m basically just typing out what I’m thinking.  A stream of conscience is what really is being typed right now.

I can’t help but think that I used to do this more regularly.  Not blog per se but more journaling.  I used to be really good at keep a journal but like other things before I have let that slip into the way side long forgotten until I see something that makes me think; I should have been doing since way before.  But I didn’t and then I think of the what ifs, should have been, I wonder ifs; come to mind that it baffles me into a overwhelm goo that makes me lazy before I even started.  The steam that was steaming at the start just gets lost and goes down to a boil and simmer.

So I guess what I’m saying now is that I will make another attempt to make this blog a more frequent thing where I will share whatever it is that I have on my mind with you all.

So here’s to another push on the blog.

Thanks for reading.

Oliver

WDS 2014

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This year I make my return to Portland, Oregon to attend the World Domination Summit. And this being my third year I intend to do more an enjoy than I ever have. With that in mind. I have a few things that I would like to go after. Here are some of my goals:

1. Face my fear. The fear of heights.
2. Meet and reconnect with old and new friends.
3. Foster and nurture the relationships that I have already built from previous years of the summit.
4. Share my knowledge of photography with other WDS photographers.
5. Have the most fun I can.
6. Dance more.
7. Drink good Portland coffee.

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Oliver the Blogger…express yourself!

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So writing this blog has been a personal experiment of sharing my thoughts, ideas, and interest with my fellow readers. As far as I have been doing so far, it has been an interesting journey thus far. I started with the optimism of writing practically everyday to the more recent point of practically not writing and posting at all. Despite the successes and some of the pitfalls that I have experience this far, I have found it personally gratifying to post and put my work out there. I had a friend tell me to it straight that; ” I just had to ship it,”. I had to put forward the work that I was working on and out out there for the world to see. And so I have at least done this with the blog that you read.

Blogging to me isn’t the easiest of things to do. I have found that I need to be in the right mindset, the right mood, and at least have about 30 minutes of me time to myself. I have also found that having a place to write that is consistent and if possible has white noise has helped. If you have followed me long enough here or on my Instagram you that one such place that I have found has worked for me is the Coffee and Tea Collective. But I have also tried to mimic this experience in other places with a great app called Coffitivity. It’s an app that plays the ambient noises of coffee places. Yes, you read that right; it plays white noise of coffee houses. Lol.

The one thing that I have enjoyed is that I have been able to express myself here. I have taken the leap to just post and share. Early in this journey I kept this blog pretty quiet and low key. Now when I push publish, it goes out to the interWebs of current and it is out there for all to see, read, critique, and response to. I don’t have fairly large readership and or possibly and audience but that is not the point. Just like my friend suggested, I should just ship it. And write, edit, and ship, it goes.

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Oliver the Blogger…Oops I think I did it Again…

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Howdy! Well it’s been awhile since I last posted. I hit one of those procrastination walls once again. It was one of those walls that I’m pretty sure that everyone is accustom to every once in awhile or in my case every few months, 6 months to be exact. How do I know this happen? Well I have well documented myself on what I do when I run into this procrastination wall. Here’s usually a sequence of events.

1. Usually there is an impending deadline.
2. The deadline date is far out in advance.
3. Another task pops out. Yes is said and life continues.
4. Then another….
5. And then throw in a vacation in there.

Then let the adventures begin.

The one reason that this happens to be often is that fall into the trick that I can accomplish it all. I think that with proper time management and strong will I can accomplish it. Well then comes the “thinking part.” And then I start to think a lot of what I can do to make the process that I’m doing much more efficient. And when that happen I experiment. And experiment. And experiment more. And before I know it. I have gone through multiple experiments and I think to myself that I haven’t accomplish much. Although as I sit here I should realized that I have accomplish something. And that one accomplishment is that i figured out multiple ways of not to do one task and eventually I end up with a optimal solution.

So with the thought that I haven’t done anything…I start thinking that I have a monumental task now. And that kind of thinking is really effective to making me believe that I can do more and that the task is impossible to accomplish. And then starts the vicious circle of procrastination. And then hence we arrived the the situation that I currently find myself in.

So let’s start this all again and see what the coming days and weeks take me on this blogging and sharing journey. Well that’s an update to the blog at least. I will do my best to post more and post more often like I did previously.

Thanks for reading. 🙂