First Day of Instant Messenger Freedom

Revisions:
9-7-10: Initial release.

---

I thought it would be interesting to just write about what it feels like to be liberated from the wrath of technology, more so from the instant messenger programs.

Now I am not going to write about this every single day, but maybe at the end of the week I may write up a reflection post and how things went when a small distraction of my life suddenly “disappeared”.

With the first day being yesterday (Labor Day), I spent my time off from work getting to do stuff that I never had a chance to do. I spent time with my family and helped do some misc. stuff around the house, in particular, cleaning out our garage.

Fall season is almost here, and where I live, it can get cold real quick. So I started sorting through our clothes and figuring out which I want to keep, and which I’m going to pack or send away to the salvation army.

In addition, I got some good old fashion rest, and also spent some time reorganizing my hard drive into better tip top shape. I also took a closer look into Google Reader, and decided to use this as my main form of information these days.

I still continued my activities as usual, meaning that I checked the blog and youtube every now and then just to see what came up. Am I missing the social and interactiveness of instant messenger? Hmm, yes and no.

Although I do enjoy chatting on random subjects or perhaps on a specific subject, at the same time I do not enjoy seeing the minutes go by and leaving me less time to do things that I want to do.

This is why for those that talk to me on Skype regularly I may give clues of pointing to the watch or telling you have 2 minutes to get your point across before I have to cut you off and go.

Seems strict, but I’m only forcing the person in question to cut through the fluff and get straight to the point. Not only it helps me, but it helps you cherish your time as well.

Of course, there are times where maybe you do want to spend an hour here and there talking about stuff, but you got to pick it wisely, especially if it is my time you are claiming.

Anyway, this vacation has made me remember what life was like, a much more and simpler if not quieter life.

Many of you are probably asking what is the big deal?  Well, if you are in my position, you might understand.  Do you have 10+ different people a day sending you messages on random topics?  Or how about technical subjects that acquire your interaction?

Sadly, none of this is pure textbook solutions, and in some cases, Google cannot even save you.  These are the interesting questions that I get, and I hope as time goes on, I can have the VST team slowly take over and make it a better world for all. We’ll see what happens.

Funny, as a courtesy note I told most of my Skype fans that I would be gone for the whole week via my status message, but not sure if many of them notice that I am gone.

I can imagine the flurry of offline messages when I come back on Sunday. Maybe what I’ll do is take a screenshot off all the missed IMs and show you guys. It could be very interesting.

The real underlying reason to go absent is to really force people to understand what they take for granted these days.  So many rely on one person to get them the answer that when that person is gone, they are so crippled and broken that they can’t do anything themselves.

It’s very similar to a person who needs glasses to see.  The minute you take the glasses away, you are blind as a bat. Yet, when you have glasses on all the time, you never think about it.

Are you ever in a situation like that?  Taking something for granted, and by the time its gone, it is way too late?

I am hoping that by my conscientious effort to get away from the chat programs, it has forced those that really do depend on me to:

1) Figure out how to solve their own “opportunities” on their own

and

2)  Realize how important I am in their life now that I am gone (temporarily).

Maybe, just maybe that when I get back online, people will just be more aware of my time, and cut me some slack. Or better yet, people will be more appreciative when I do spend a few minutes of my time to help them out.

In retrospect, this is why I make tutorials (text and videos).  I do them because I want people to figure out things on their own. They do NOT need me to be present online to hold their hands and walk them through things.

When you are reading a textbook, do you have to call the author or find him online to get an answer figured out? No, of course not. You just read the text over and over, and if it doesn’t make sense, then you consult your friends or family to help you figure out what a particular sentence or problem statement is saying.

I know I am sort of rambling here, but the sad part is not everyone will know that this article exists.  Actually, I’m going to change that. I’m going to tweet this and put it on the Youtube bulletin post. Then we’ll truly see what kind of impact (or not) I have on my viewers. 🙂