Week 15 – Connected?

The digital decluttering is ongoing and has led to many questions.

What does mastery look like when it comes to being “connected” in this modern age? What should it look like?

I have a hard time believing that having to constantly answer messages every time the phone notifies you that you have one should be called mastery. But how much is too much? How much is not enough? Who gets to decide?

I have experienced a boss that got mad at me because I did not answer the phone even when I was in the bathroom. My mother went from (in the age of landlines only) calling me and, if I didn’t answer, having the attitude that I must be busy or out somewhere, to (in the age of cell phones) calling my cell phone and if I didn’t answer, calling my landline, then my cell phone again, then my spouse, etcetera until she finally talked to me (I’ve experienced this professionally too). It used to be that if your boss wanted to have you on call 24/7 they supplied you with a pager and paid you extra for making yourself available like that, but now it seems people are just expected to be available 24/7 and if you don’t answer them right away you’re being rude, a bad employee, ghosting them, etcetera. Never mind getting paid extra to be available like that professionally. In my professional life I’ve been told that sometimes taking 48 hours to respond to email is “unacceptable”. I had to point out that 48 hours was only two days, a weekend, “You mean I’m not allowed to have weekends?!” They backed down when I put it that way.

One of the things we are required to do as an I Ho Chuan member is “maintain an online presence.” I am trying to figure what that means to me. What rules should I set for myself around that “connectedness” (as well as in other aspects of my life) that works for me and the path to mastery. Where is the line between this “connectedness” being part of a path to mastery versus a hindrance to it? When does “connectedness” become just busy-ness and interfere with mastery?

I could easily spend all day, every day, reading and answering messages (email and social media) and get nothing else done. That would drive me crazy, and nothing of actual merit would get done, so I know that is not mastery. Where is the middle ground? If I say that I will check my messages once a day (once a week is actually really nice timing for me, when I can get away with it) it may work for me, to allow me to get good work done while still keeping up with what’s going on around me, but I know from experience (see work related stories above) that some will find that dissatisfactory even if it results in me being more productive.

As you can see, many questions, but the answers are often still illusive. There is much to work on.

—-

As for my week I have been sick and not much got done. It is nice to finally breath again and be able to do physical things without feeling like I’m going to hack up a lung. The last three days have been noticeably better with each successive day, and today is the first day that I feel like I could get back to doing at least a few numbers without setting myself back physically.

Numbers for the Year:

Pushups (modified): 8768 / 50,000

Situps (modified): 8551 / 50,000

Weapon Form: 226 / 1000

Hand Form: 142 /1000

Random Acts of Kindness: 75 / 1000

Sparring: 174 / 1000

Kilometres: 338 / 1609

Memorize “Mastery”:

Nurture Relationships:

Blogging: 27 / 52

Art Like it’s My Job: 47 / 252 days

Declutter my life: 23 days where some decluttering was done

Greatcoat project: still on the back burner

Improved flexibility: 17 days of doing something