Day 5

Photo credits to Dr. Maraboli--pinterest.com

 Here we are, at the end of the week! We've come a long way  and have come closer to being in control of the media that surrounds us instead of letting it control us. Though this week has had its ups and downs, from struggling to focus on a single task at a time to gazing at a beautifully organized phone, I have learned so much; working to improve 'single-tasking' on day one, organization on day two, filtering on day three, and communication on day four.  So, what is our fifth and final infomagical challenge--to come up with a personal mantra that will help us to keep this 'magical feeling' alive!

Before starting these infomagical challenges I tracked my media use over a five day period. By tracking my media use I noticed that I have a tendency to waste time on YouTube, particularly when I am feeling overwhelmed by school and life in general. It's a safety mechanism that helps me to escape from my present moment and teleport myself into the images dancing across my computer screen. Because of my tendency to employ escapism through YouTube, my main goal for this week has been to become more in tune with myself, wasting less time on YouTube and instead spending more time doing the things that actually matter to me. 

Due to my choice in goals I found that my breakthrough day was day three. As you may remember, the main focus for day three was improving our ability to filter the information coming at us from all sides, instead focusing on articles, videos, and other forms of media that are relevant to our goals rather than clicking on links that are trending or have caught our attention with sensationalistic titles. Instead of just being a zombie media user driven by my emotions I was a conscious media user on day three, asking myself each time I was about to click on a link whether it would benefit my future self. I found this filtering of media to be freeing, both psychologically and temporally.

My 'infomantra' 

By using my newfound media knowledge, and in particular channeling the infomagical challenge on day three, I have come up with my media mantra. Every time I am about to click on a link, video or article, I look up at the 'infomantra' on my computer: "Today is what you make it!". 

Thanks so much for following along on my journey this week. I hope you have enjoyed our time together! 

Till next time,
Z 

Day 4

Wow, the week is coming to an end fast! But, don't worry, today's challenge lets you take a step back from your hectic life. The goal for today is to spend at least seven minutes chatting with someone, over the phone if you have to, but ideally face to face. 

Photo Credits to '300 Stories' blog

I am one hundred percent a perfectionist and like to feel that in all communication I talk and present myself in the best way possible. The problem though is that 'perfect' conversation isn't possible unless it is mediated through an editable form. As we have all experienced at one time or another, we cannot go back and change something we just said as much as we may want to. I think, in general, we as humans care about our social personae and want to give a good impression to the people around us. I would also argue that the majority of people don't like to be placed in a situation in which we do not feel we have complete control. Both this care for image and fear of vulnerability keep people from putting themselves out there and cause people to hide 'behind screens', relying on mediums that allow themselves shape and perfect their public image. Though I agree that any form of communication is better then none, I do think there is something special about face to face communication and the vulnerability one places oneself in is just part of the 'magic'. 

I have been invested over the past month or so in exploring religion and viewing it from multiple perspectives, giving myself time to reach my own view. Because of this I have been reading a number of books on this topic. Religion is an area that is hugely controversial and if you ever get the change to ask someone questions or just discuss thoughts on the topic you're almost always bound to have an interesting time. I spent at least seven minutes chatting with my dad about different aspects of religion, from the books I have read, and found it to be enjoyable and illuminating. 

Yes, I wasn't always able to explain my thoughts as gracefully as I may have wanted but that in itself added a touch of honesty to the communication, and honesty has a tendency to strengthen one's relationship with others. 

Thanks for the chat,
Z 

Day 3

Photo Creds to Langwitches on Flickr 

Today on the agenda: becoming your own filter. There is so much information constantly flowing around us and we need to be able to filter these messages in order to access the ones that are pertinent to us.

I, for one, find myself reading articles and watching videos just because they are popular or have sensationalistic titles. Usually I'll get to the end of an article and wonder why I spent my time reading it; in what way is the information helping me grow, furthering my knowledge, or enriching my life? So, in accordance with today's challenge, I made an effort only to read, watch, and do things that add to my life and bring me closer to my goals.

I found this infomagical challenge to be the hardest and most rewarding of the ones I have completed thus far. I caught myself a number of times clicking on articles or videos unconsciously and all of a sudden realizing that I had no reason whatsoever to waste my time in this way. I also found that by not clicking on every sensationalistic article I saved time throughout my day. The time I saved I was able to put towards things that I cared about which improved the overall quality of my day.

Photo Credit to Robertson Associates and joyoftech.com

So, get out there fellow humans; take your life into your own hands! Put the time you have on this earth to good use by doing the things that give you joy and not absentmindedly following the flow of the world around you.

'Filterers' unite! 
Z 

Day 2

My cellphone, post KonMari method

Today's challenge? To clean up the cellphone. . . which was right up my alley. I love it when things are tidy and find it quite hard to stay focused on the task at hand when my surroundings are disorganized. The sad thing is, life has a tendency to be messy, hectic, and just overall crazy and it's hard to find the time to stop and organize one's life, or in this case, one's phone.

Another barrier to being organized is not really knowing where to start. Thankfully, Note to Self (the podcast production team) had everything under control and introduced the KonMari method for cleaning one's phone. The major focus of the KonMari method is to keep only the items, in this case the apps, that give you joy. How does one go about determining the level of happiness that an app provides? Well, there is a trick. 

This 'magical' trick involves contact with the item in question. Unlike clothing, one cannot handle an app materially, but it is possible to move the app around on your screen. Not only is moving an app fun, it also gives you time to consider the necessity and good (or bad) experiences that you have had with said app. 

Once you have decided whether to keep the app or not, you either ditch it, or keep it in (ideally) a single folder. But the key is, do whatever makes you happy. If you would prefer to have more than one folder, go ahead; joy is subjective and only you know what makes you happy . Once you have cleaned up the apps you arrive at my favourite part, choosing your cellphone background! Make sure to choose an image that brings you pleasure, so that at the end of this cellphone clean up your phone will only add to your bliss, rather than being a source of stress. 

Hopefully at the end of this cleanup you will feel like I did: satisfied, calm, and in control of at least one aspect of your life!  


Goodnight webworld,
Z

Day 1

http://pomodorotechnique.com/ 

Day 1 began dark and gloomy as I stumbled out of bed to head off to the gym. Today's challenge--to annihilate multitasking.

In this day and age it is very easy to be consumed and beleaguered by the constant barrage of information coming from the many forms of media. The biggest culprit for this information overload in my mind is the mobile phone, which is constantly diverting people from the task at hand and causing them to look down at every vibrate or ‘bing’ emanating from that magical box. I am myself guilty of this offence, finding it very difficult to go for long without checking my emails, messages, or the latest post on facebook. Thus today’s challenge seemed perfectly designed to target my weaknesses and challenge it did.

On arrival at the gym I left my phone in the car to eliminate at least one distraction from my workout schedule. I also made a huge effort to focus on each rep of every exercise, doing my best to make each one count and to live in the moment. The gym workout made me realize that it’s not only media that is diverting attention, it is ourselves as well. It is very easy to allow one's thoughts to wander, losing focus on the present and putting oneself in the past or future.

After the gym I arrived home, sat down at my desk-- ready to work--and. . . picked up my phone. BUT I did not to go on Facebook; instead, I downloaded an application to help me stay focused throughout my schoolwork. The application I downloaded was a pomodoro timer based off the pomodoro technique. The pomodoro technique is a time management method that helps one bring the best focus to the task at hand by splitting up studying time into twenty five minute blocks with five minute breaks between each block. I found this study technique to be super helpful. It made the task seem less daunting by breaking it into manageable bites and it also allowed me to stay focused during the full time period because I knew that I would be able to take a break shortly. I highly recommend that you give the pomodoro technique a shot! The app I downloaded can be found here.


Until next time,
Z

Greetings

Image via Paramount 

Greetings cyberspace! This week, I have decided to embark on a journey to change and improve my media habits.

After spending some time going over my daily media use, I decided it was time to start managing my media instead of being managed by it. (I spend a lot of time on YouTube. . .)! But, it's one thing to say I'm going to change my media habits and another thing to actually do it. Because of this ambiguity I have decided to follow a week long podcast series provided by WYNC so as to have a plan of action for attacking my media use. To begin with this challenge, one must choose a particularly goal for the week: 1. Getting more in touch with family and friends; 2. Being more up to date on the news; 3. Becoming more creative; 4. Getting more in tune with one's self; 5. Gaining knowledge about a particular subject. The goal I have chosen is #4. If you would like to follow along and choose your own infomagical goal click here!

Onward to the stars,
Z