Don't Be Boring. Do Stuff

Were you really born to stare at a screen for decades and then die?

I have had a disturbing thought a few times over the last few years. I thought, "I do not know what people did before digital technology.” I could not picture it. I could not imagine it. This disturbed me because I fancy myself some kind of enlightened thinker, incredibly cognizant about the impacts of technology. So, I pushed the thought down until there was nothing else I could do about it.

Time for a thought experiment.

Imagine you write a list of everything you did with your free time throughout the day, minute by minute. With a solid degree of detail. What does it look like? Be honest, be honest. Imagine you are observing yourself from yesterday and taking notes. Does it look something like:

• Scrolling X: Saw a video I forgot about. Saw a video I forgot about. Saw a video I forgot about. Saw something that made me angry.

• Switch to Instagram: Scroll reels, forget them all. Scroll reels, scroll reels. Someone says something interesting that makes me wish I were doing something interesting.

Netflix is probably also blaring in the background.

Now, imagine you tell someone about how you spent your day. Alternatively, imagine someone telling you how they spent their day. How would you react? How would someone respond to you? Why are you telling me about your incredibly boring and uninteresting day?

Imagine you continue this process for a decade—a whole decade of doomscrolling—a lifetime. Your gravestone will read: Here lies Anon. He/she doomscrolled TikTok and watched a lot of Netflix.

Is this what you are living for? This is how you decide to spend your existence as a human being?

This was me. This is me, but less so than it used to be.

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Eventually, this uncomfortable feeling boiled over, so I decided to experience life before the digital age. I wanted to figure out what people did in ancient times. This kind of experiment requires replicating the conditions of ancient times (before 2003 or so). So, I put away my phone for a month and banned myself from using my computer outside of work hours/purposes—and Substack purposes, of course.

Instead, I decided to do stuff. I will share what I did and am still doing to inspire you with something you could do instead of doomscrolling forever. I picked up some of these things before starting my experiment, so I would have more things to do other than doomscroll. The digital-free experiment provided more time to engage in these things.

• I learned how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. I have it down to under a minute.

• I branched out the types of books I read, reading more fiction for entertainment.

• I stared at the wall, thought real thoughts, and enjoyed the feeling and presence of my mind working as God intended, unencumbered by algorithmic poison.

• I started playing Chess and got my ELO above 1000.

• I became very present during quality time with my family and friends.

• I gained new skills, learning to program and developing a deeper understanding of computers.

• Chores became easier and less burdensome. Completing any task, however routine, felt more rewarding than before.

• My time in the gym was more focused and less distracted, creating a stronger mind-muscle connection.

Without anything to mindlessly scroll or watch, every day felt longer and more filled with experience. I felt like I was living more each day than I was before.

Overall, this experience made me feel more like a human being and less like a subliminally programmed algorithm drone.

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Late last year, I did a deep dive into my ancestry. I wanted to learn what the people whose lives and decisions eventually resulted in my existence did. I learned about the German settlers who came to America and built towns that parts of my family still inhabit. I learned about my ancestors who fought in the Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War. I got to see parts of their stories, the stories of those around them, and little tidbits of what their lives were like.

This is the essence of living historically. Understanding that your birth is not an accident, nor is it random. It is the total of the choices your ancestors made. And now, you get to carry on that legacy. You are connected to their story. You extend their story, and your descendants will continue your story. Your life is a chapter in the history of your family.

What will that chapter look like? Will your gravestone read: Here lies Anon. He/she doomscrolled TikTok and watched a lot of Netflix? Will your chapter in your family history be called “The Guy Who Just Watched Reels”?

I would rather have mine read anything else.

Do not be boring. Do stuff—any stuff. Make a plan to get rid of as much technology as is reasonably possible, and start today.

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