I’m sitting in the doctor’s office right now. Around the room, a dozen people are quietly waiting.
Waiting and tapping.
Everyone is silently tapping away on a phone. Reading. Sending email. Hurling ill-tempered birds to their death. I’m even writing this on my phone.
What did we ever do before our brains could be constantly engaged? What did we do in those moments between moments? Waiting in the doctor’s office. Waiting on food to arrive. What happened back when our brains were forced to just relax for a moment or focus on something other than this glowing thing in our hands?
I wonder about the effect these things have on our brain because much of what I do comes from some deep recess of my mind, and it’s kind of mysterious. I’d hate to do anything that would mess with that. Creativity is not math. It is not this quantifiable thing that is easy to understand on paper. People present me with problems and I design solutions. Most of the solutions come to me at odd times in odd places. Usually it’s not while I’m sitting and thinking about the problem.
How many things am I missing by not letting my brain just rest and disengage in those moments between moments? Could my phone, this vaunted scion of productivity, actually be hurting my creative output?
To answer your last question, yes. But, if you had another phone, say an Android, then no.
Beautiful post, Chad. Your countless hours in the writing weight room called “blogging” have obviously paid off. It shows.
Lainey and I miss you a lot. Wow! Just realized — we’ve been friends for over five years now. Nice ride. Thanks for the lift, buddy. Happy New Year to you, Becka and the kids.
Great post man….