Some Changes

For the 1% of my readers who resonated with my two previous posts, I thought I'd share some of the changes I'm trying to make in my own life.  My goals are to reclaim my time, become a more effective student, and ensure that I am the master of the technology in my life... not its slave.  I want to enjoy the benefits of the Net like rapid information exchange and participating in online community, while focusing my time and studies on more linear forms of learning.

First, I bought Amazon's newest Kindle -- the Kindle DX Graphite.  It might seem odd to back off from the Internet by purchasing a new piece of technology, but I love my Kindle 2 and find that it's helped me read a lot more than before.  I was reluctant to make the switch to a bigger, bulkier DX but it has one enormous benefit: the large screen can accurately display PDFs.  This means I can carry all the many excellent reports that I want to read, like those from International Crisis Group and the Congressional Research Service and the Center for New American Security.  Instead of scanning these reports in an online context where I'm drowning in information, I can download them and take them someplace quiet to read them in their entirety.  The large screen is also better for nonfiction in general.

Second, I've refocused my news intake on "old media" rather than blogs and e-mail groups.  Every day I download the EarlyBird as a .mobi ebook file to my Kindle and read it almost in its entirety.  The EarlyBird covers most of the significant articles that cause a buzz on milblogs; I tend to see the same stories repeated all over the place.  By reading them linearly in one concentrated dose I find that I am reading them in much more detail and learning more.  Also, after slacking off for a year, I am returning to The Economist as my primary source of weekly news and analysis.

Third, I have drastically culled my blog list and am trying to really focus on reading the blogs I've kept.  Interesting observation: it occurred to me after I "downsized" that Foreign Policy and Wired have a very strong showing in the blogs that I kept.  These magazines really do put out excellent material, which suggests that a hybrid old/new media may--as a general rule--be superior to the anarchy of pure new media.

Fourth, I've shifted my Arabic study materials from my computer to my iPod.  Language learning is media intensive and the computer offers real benefits, but the distraction is simply too great.  By putting audio and video on the iPod I can focus without distraction.

Fifth, I've stopped taking my computer with me when I study.  I often study in coffee shops, but Internet use--even though well-intended--has sucked up a vast amount of that time.  By focusing on books, the iPod and the Kindle my productivity during these times has multiplied.

Sixth, I'm prioritizing reading books.  I've always loved reading, but now that I've backed off the net, I've been devouring books at a much faster pace. 

I'm still brainstorming ideas.  My attention now is turning to my friendships... how to break out of the Facebook trap that has trivialized many of my good friendships while providing the illusion that we're somehow staying in touch.