PART 1: HEAVY WORK

Our bodies need to exert effort, plain and simple. We benefit from stimulating our proprioceptive system. When we move - push and pull - we give our body a way to feel itself in time and space.

A kid begging to wrestle on the living room carpet before bedtime isn’t avoiding sleep. She is begging to organize her nervous system. We all are.

We crave heavy work.

But with so much of our world happening in a 3×6 screen less than 12 inches from our face, how do we make time for heavy work in a digital world?

PART 2: SMALL RAIN

I’m currently reading a book about a man who ... Well, it doesn’t matter what the book is about. I’m not done yet. The man is stuck in a hospital bed and he quickly realizes how normalized and desensitized we’ve become with constant access to social media.

We don’t have to wait for a goddamn thing anymore.

We’ve all become social media ya-yas. And with no buffer times or lulls between attractions, our thinking has become a massively passive experience.

What happens when we start outsourcing everything? What happens when even our inner most thoughts, feelings, and beliefs are outsourced?

I don’t want my inwardness turned inside out.

I want to be conscious. I want to welcome the lulls and the buffers and the time it takes sit with my own thoughts.

I think there’s something to be said for the work of waiting.

PART 3: INTRODUCING THE SLOW MEDIA MOVEMENT

So what, then? Should we just put our phones down and embrace boredom more regularly? Is that the solution?

No. It’s not feasible to cut ourselves off from the digital world.

We just need to make time for the heavy work.

Heavy Work in the digital world: the Slow Media Movement.

THE PILLARS OF THE SLOW MEDIA MOVEMENT

F*CK THE ALGORITHM

Intentional Consumption

Stop letting your algorithm pull you down the river. Grab a paddle and start choosing where you’re headed. Ask questions about your suggestions. Spend less time on familiar topics.

Curate your own consumption. Be intentional.

AVOID EMPTY CARBS CONTENT

Substance Focused

I never feel great about tossing back an entire bag of potato chips. And I never feel great about tossing back an entire night of doom scrolling.

Spend time on content that adds value to your life. Consume substance.

“WASTING TIME” WAS NEVER REAL

Redefine Time Spending

We’ve demonized the act of ‘wasting time’.

Somehow we have convinced ourselves that over-saturation and overstimulation are the most effective ways to live. I mean, we even piss with our phones in our hands.

We piss.
With our phones.
In our hands.

Spend less time overstimulating your senses. Give your body a way to feel itself in time and space.

What if “wasting time” is the heavy work we need?

There’s something to be said for the work of waiting.

MY HEAVY WORK STAPLES FOR A SLOW MEDIA LIFESTYLE

▶ I listen to people who have something valuable to say: Natasha Lyonne | Good Hang with Amy Poehler

“You know, listening to you is like watching a symphony.” Amy Poehler to Natasha Lyonne

▶ I listen to things that make me feel: Absolutely by Dijon

▶ I consume what my friends create: Peter Overzet shared a quote in his newsletter that resonated with me this week.

“I think the joy is found in the challenge and the striving and the struggling. And if there’s nothing to strive or struggle for, then you’re kind of like, oh, where’s the fun?” - Alex Honnold

Perhaps striving and struggling are Heavy Work adjacent?

▶ I sweat: Our bodies need to exert effort, plain and simple.

▶ I create: Thank you for giving me a safe space to do it.

▶ I remind myself of the importance of having our own thoughts: A.I. Is Homogenizing Our Thoughts

TODAY’S INSPO

Race Car Ya-Yas - Cake

I don’t know what this song means. But I like the feeling it gives me. And it reminds me that I can, in fact, change lanes.