Mental saturation

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Ferj

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So here goes (and don't think the hypocrisy of posting on here hasn't hit me!).

I've recently been making changes to my life. As a 38 yr old man (today!) I've found I seem to be mentally saturated beyond belief. My work in a police control room involves constant information, the TV at home, mobile phone and social media all constantly bombarding me with information (useful or otherwise!) I was finding I had very little mental downtime. So I've made some conscious changes. I deleted Facebook and got rid of news apps off my phone, switched off the radio to & from work, use my phone only as an alarm & watch less TV. The change I feel personally is huge, I feel more attentive to conversations, I actively speak to more people, I feel I can breathe.

Has anyone else ever felt like this? I kept the tp app as I love my photography but now my "smartphone" is less cluttered & so is my mind
 
For years I worked in the computer industry and it was my life but slowly I began to think that I was going in the wrong direction. All there was to my life was the gear and work and the rush of the high pressure environment and I came to think that I wanted something different. I decided that I couldn't just drop everything, buy a pair of sandals and a robe and live in a cave so instead I just took a bit of a sideways step into another industry which involved a 9-5 working week instead of the 13 to 14 hours plus some travel 6 to 7 days a week I was doing in computers.

The change in pace was a bit of a shock at first, I remember sitting in my office and wondering why people were streaming by in the corridor so I got up and went and asked and the answer was that it was 5 o'clock and they were going home. In my previous job 5 o'clock just came and went unnoticed and the chances were that I'd still be there at 21:00 with an hour or so drive after that. I did adjust and I stuck at this new career for another 12 years and then decided to leave paid employment and do something completely different and that was 5 years ago and I've never been happier.

I let a lot of technology pass me by these days. I have a laptop and a tablet and a smart phone but when I'm not using them I put them out of sight.

The things I used to get involved in at work seem petty and pointless now. Those days paid for my early retirement (at 49) but I don't look back with too many fond memories.

I think there's a lot to be said for having a good work/life balance and I'd add electronic/real life balance to that too.

I'm not on friendface or anything like it.
 
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Mental saturation.

I must admit that I read that header twice, especially as it was posted by a guy.
But I got there in the end :D

I do a lot of driving, so I listen to the radio a fair bit ( Radio 2)
I rarely watch TV, and then that's just for films, DVD's, Now TV and the like.
FB I do have an account and drop by for the s***s and giggles but that's about it,
apart from keeping in contact with a few far flung relations.

I spend far too much time on here, but its how I relax, after a 12/13 hour day.
Especially with the nights drawing in, leaves little time to do much else TBH.

My phone I use for a few personal texts or calls, ( rarely needed for works reasons, now there is a rarity in its self I bet ;) )
sometimes I'll use it to drop by here if its a slow day at work,

And I totally understand where you are coming from :thumbs:





 
I think TV can "steal" a lot of your time in a wasteful way and FB can be a bit boring with all the rubbish - mind you having said that a lot of what many people speak is pretty boring as well lol
 
I like TV. It's proper downtime and engrossing if you watch shows you like.

I do feel frazzled after work and some days I'll make a point of avoiding the computer and internet and relax infront of the TV or even go out in the country.

In a working day I find it important to do something nice with it, be watch some tele or go out in the car after work.
 
Rob, do you not find yourself more bored mentally now?
That would be my problem / worry.

I am constantly plugged into something on the net, be it TP, Facebook, Reddit, News sites etc etc.
I'd like to unplug and start unwinding, but so much of my life is digitized.

I agree about the constant sources / stream of useless information that I don't actually 'need'. However, when I've tried to step it back I end up just being bored.
Catch 22 I suppose. I'm so used to being mentally 'stimulated' I don't know how to enjoy the downtime and just sit and do 'nothing'.
 
Marcel said:
I don't know how to enjoy the downtime and just sit and do 'nothing'.
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And that is exactly the problem of a couple of generations past.
They don't know how to amuse themselves.
"We" had no problems pre internet, mobile phones and no more than 2 TV channels.
When I was young, We played games ( as a family) Scrabble Monopoly cards and countless others long since forgotten.
As kids we went out climbed trees, took little nets down to the local pond and caught tadpoles and assorted other creatures,
rode our bikes roller skated till dusk, built forts out of the grass cuttings in the local park, played on the swings ........
 
Cobra said:
And that is exactly the problem of a couple of generations past.
They don't know how to amuse themselves.
"We" had no problems pre internet, mobile phones and no more than 2 TV channels.
When I was young, We played games ( as a family) Scrabble Monopoly cards and countless others long since forgotten.
As kids we went out climbed trees, took little nets down to the local pond and caught tadpoles and assorted other creatures,
rode our bikes roller skated till dusk, built forts out of the grass cuttings in the local park, played on the swings ........
Click to expand...
Nothing to stop you from doing any of that now, although some of it may well attract a few odd looks.
 
He does, that's why the judge had to have a few serious words.

You see I did that too, as a kid.
My kids never have (sort of), so I can understand their frustration sometimes at being bored with nothing to do, even though I often hear myself replying with "Get a pencil and a piece of paper and let your imagination run wild!"

Easy to say, hard to do!
 
Marcel said:
Easy to say, hard to do!
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Because there are too many technological distractions, which I guess is our children's future.
Although I did watch Transcendence last night ;)

nilagin said:
although some of it may well attract a few odd looks.
Click to expand...
Marcel covered that :D
But as above I can easily find other things to do, its the youngsters of today, ( and I mean pre teens) that are getting into this mind set and we as parents are letting them.
 
Aaaah Transcendence, really enjoyed that film.
 
Marcel said:
Aaaah Transcendence, really enjoyed that film.
Click to expand...
It was OK ;)
There was another along the same lines years ago, but buggered if I can remember the name of it,
this time the "computer" got the girl pregnant though :D
 
OldCarlos said:
Demon Seed? (around mid 70's)
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Dean Koontz!
He once told me on no account should I read the original book, as in the rewrite, not one paragraph remains unchanged, and said the movie was only bearable because of Julie Christie. :-)
I read it anyway.
He was right....it was arse gravy :lol:
 
Cobra said:
Mental saturation.

I must admit that I read that header twice, especially as it was posted by a guy.
But I got there in the end :D
Click to expand...
:lol: i had to think twice before i got it :lol:
 
Cobra said:
Mental saturation.

I must admit that I read that header twice, especially as it was posted by a guy.
But I got there in the end :D
...
And I totally understand where you are coming from (y)
Click to expand...

Ha that made me laugh!, there is always one.. :) I'm glad I am not alone!

Marcel said:
Rob, do you not find yourself more bored mentally now?
That would be my problem / worry.
Click to expand...

Marcel, quite the opposite actually! I find I am doing a lot more things rather than wasting time and I feel much more active and productive because of it. It's interesting when someone mentions something that has been on the news and you have no idea about it already, and I never really realised how many of my friends that I talk to, reference facebook in their actual conversations!

A few days in, I have noticed a few things. 1) I engage a lot more with my kids and my wifeand actually listen to what they say rather than half paying attention looking at my phone (I think I must have been a pretty bad parent up until now!) 2) how paranoid people are - the amount of people that think I have blocked them for some unknown reason!!! 3) how much time I wasted on stuff that was totally unimportant and what better use of that time I am making now. 4) my phone is not the first thing I look at in the morning or last thing at night anymore and I actually seem to go to sleep quicker. 5) my mind does feel clearer and calmer.

it might just be me but its going to be interesting to see how this carries on over the next month or so, out of interest I googled where you can live with no internet at all and its actually pretty hard to find anywhere! http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140214-the-last-places-without-internet
 
I can certainly relate to the OP here.

My goto is my push bike when I need a great big unhitch, also I very rarely watch full fat TV anymore.
I generally grab my stuff off the internet and watch it when I want to, also never do the reality TV durge I think that makes your brain go to mush.
 
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