Introduction
On September 1st, I'm embarking on a year long project to significantly reduce my time online. Earlier this year, I started reflecting on how much of my life I want to spend online versus offline. After some thought, I decided that being online for about 50% of the year should be enough to cover my needs for work, life, and entertainment. A vast majority of us have grown up in an offline world. It's just that we forgot about it. We spend a lot of our time online now, and we get a lot of value from it. There's nothing wrong with that, but I myself want to stop spending so much time online and start experiencing the benefits of an offline life.
Naturally, the next challenge was figuring out how to make that balance a reality. Given my job, which involves a lot of email, online research, project planning, designing, virtual meetings, I knew I couldn't disconnect from the Internet for a whole month at a time. And disconnecting for a weekend is too little time. So, I started to play around with different timelines and 10 days is what seems very achievable.
I realized that I could plan ahead, set up an auto reply on my email, prepare the materials, and hand most tasks offline for 10 days straight. Over these 10 days, I'm going to continue working in an offline manner and I'll have to go to the office more and hand more things in paper, but that's okay because what it's going to allow me to do, it's going to catch up on my offline pursuits. Maybe it's books, maybe it's concentration, maybe it's actually learning how to make bread, or whatever it is that I'm really excited about. After that, I'm going to reconnect for the next 10 days to catch up on all of the online work, but prepare for the next offline stretch and repeat the cycle. The reason why I'm doing this experiment is because I wanna see the effects that offline, a complete offline experience is going to have in my life.
In this podcast, I'm going to try to guide you on how to do something similar in your own life. My job might be different from yours, but the principles are pretty similar. Decide how much time you want to spend online each year, organize your life around that goal, and prepare for your offline break. There's a lot of life that is waiting for us, and we have to make the best of it. So let's get started with this little guide onto how to find your offline sweet spot.
Finding Your Offline Period
First, let's get practical. The goal here is to find an offline period that doesn't get you fired. Most of us have a mix of online and offline tasks at work, so the first step is to map those out. Start by listing all your tasks, categorizing them as online or offline, and then visualizing them on a typical month's calendar. For example, in my job, I spend about 12 days a month driving to different locations and working directly with nonprofits, mostly offline tasks with the occasional presentation. The other 10 days are dedicated to online work, research, event planning, creating resources, etcetera. This is how I landed on the 10 day online cadence. It fits my responsibilities perfectly. But to make this work for the next year, I'm going to need to be incredibly intentional with those 10 online days. I cannot just waste my time online, I need to be actually focused on what I need to be doing.
Now you may be thinking, what about email? Yes. I still have to deal with emails like everyone else, but I'm approaching it in a little bit of an old school way. I'll set up an auto reply that encourages people to call if it's urgent and clearly states when I'll be back online. On top of that, I'm getting a Mailbug. This is a very old retro mail station. It's a device that lets me send and receive text based emails without needing WiFi. This way I can handle some emails that actually need to be replied to once a day and then move on with my offline day. You can find more information about Mailbug. There's a link in the description in this podcast.
Your ideal offline period might look very different from mine. Maybe 5 days is the most you can manage without the Internet. Or perhaps you're a coder, and you need constant access to different resources online. That's okay. My time frame doesn't need to be yours. Pick a duration that makes sense for your life, count the hours in a week, and aim to reduce your online engagement. Even if you can only manage 25% of your year offline, that's about 2000 hours or 83 days. You could hit that target by going offline every Saturday and incorporating a daily 3 hour offline period. This could include a device free lunch, turning off your phone an hour before bed, and spending an hour of reading before starting work. The more often and longer you can unplug the better your outcomes might be. So it could be just I'm going to stop my weekends from being online periods and I'm going to transform them to offline periods. Whatever works for you, just remember, don't get fired, but spend the most time that you can offline.
Get Organized
The next step is getting organized. While there are countless tools out there promising optimization and automation, I found that keeping it simple with a calendar and reviewing it twice a day is the most effective approach. My wife is a big believer in using calendars and tracking hours. She has a whole system that works wonders for her, and it's something I've adopted too, on a more basic level. The key is to prep your calendar on Sunday before the week kicks off, then review it once in the morning and once at night. This keeps you on track and ready to tackle the day. Sure. Unexpected tasks and work emergencies might pop up, but having a solid calendar to follow can significantly boost your productivity and your offline time.
Another essential tip for staying organized is to keep a to do list. You can go all out with fancy online tools and reminders and everything, but honestly, a simple notepad or a note on your phone can do the trick. Make your list memorable, check off tasks after you complete them, and move on to the next part of your day after that. These two steps, using a calendar and maintaining a to do list, are really all you need to get started. You may find different ways to organize yourself after that, but just having a basic system of organization is going to do wonders for you. They're especially helpful if you're planning to implement an offline and online split. But even if you're not, these habits, just having a calendar and a list of things to do, will make life easier and more organized.
Prepare for Offline
The final step is to prepare for offline. Going offline can initially feel uneventful compared to the constant simulation we receive from our digital devices. The buzz of notifications, the instant access to information, and the endless entertainment options can make the idea of being offline seem almost boring. That's why it's crucial to plan activities that will not only keep you engaged during your offline period, but also bring you a sense of fulfillment. Think about hobbies or interests you've always wanted to explore but never had the time for. Whether it's learning to bake sourdough bread, starting a new exercise routine like daily walks, or picking up an old hobby like painting or gardening. These offline goals should be activities that recharge your mind and body during these offline periods, offering a much needed break from all of digital noise.
It's also important to remember that your offline time doesn't always need to be about productivity. It can be about rest and relaxation too. Don't underestimate the power of simple pleasures like taking a nap, listening to music, or spending time in nature. You could explore new hiking trails, visit local parks, or even just find a cozy spot at a cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee without the distraction of your phone. The goal is to create a list of activities that not only fill your offline hours, but also bring you genuine joy and satisfaction. The more you immerse yourself in these offline pursuits, the easier it will be to embrace this time away from the Internet, turning it into a period of rejuvenation and personal growth. Make sure to plan ahead so that these moments become the most anticipated and enjoyable parts of your experiment. I myself will be learning how to bake sourdough and also building a lot of Lego sets that have been on the back burner.
Conclusion
So to summarize this article slash podcast about your offline and online split, you need to find your ideal offline time frame. You can check out the written version and more articles on the moving offline substack. Thank you for supporting and we'll see you next time. Whether it's 5 days or it is only 20% of your year, whatever time frame you want just make a plan for it and say this is the time frame that I am willing to spend the rest of my life for online versus offline. Then create a simple plan using low tech organization tools like like a calendar and a to do list. You can go further as you evolve in your organization prowess but for now just go with the simple ones. And then fill your offline periods with activities that bring you joy and fulfillment.
Again, whether it's taking up a new hobby, exploring the outdoors, or simply allowing yourself the space to rest and recharge the key is to be intentional about your time. By carefully planning and sticking to your offline goals you can create a more balanced lifestyle that helps you stay connected to the world around you in a more meaningful way. Remember, the goal isn't to eliminate technology entirely but to find a healthy balance that enhances your life. I hope this episode of Moving Offline was helpful to you. You can check out the written version and more articles on the moving offline substack. Thank you for supporting and we'll see you next time.
The Offline/Online Split