How do you manage screen time for yourself?
Retirement is an inevitable phase of everyone’s life and it doesn’t come with a manual. It’s each to his own, and everyone has to deal with it personally. For me retiring meant a lot of free time, which coupled with procrastination, lead me to getting glued to my mobile screen surfing the Internet.
It’s not that I had nothing to do. Thankfully over years I have developed many hobbies, interests and passions to keep myself busy for rest of my life. Prominent ones amongst these are wines, books, art and travel.
But I soon realised that I’m pursuing all these interests primarily online. And when my screen time started averaging hours in double figures, I decided that it was time to take a stock of the situation and make a conscious effort to manage my online time.
The obvious solution was to keep pursuing my passions, but more in an offline mode. And I soon started loving it.
Wine Books
Putting aside Kindle, I started with reading the unread wine books piled up in my home library. This not only reduced my online time but also rekindled in me the joy of reading.
Wine Photography
I started by clicking wine bottles inside the home and my new found hobby soon took me outdoors, even to far away places like islands and beaches.
Visit to Urban Vineyards
Whenever at Bangalore, I now make it a point to visit the urban vineyards like Grover Zampa Vineyards, Domaine Sula and Big Banyan. It’s so enchanting that it keeps me away from the mobile screen for longest durations.
Wine Picnics
We also experimented with going out on family wine picnics, at times in no network areas where you’re totally amidst nature and wines.
Socialising over Wine
I realised that another effective way to stay away from mobile and computer screens is to be a part of wine socials. These could be at home by inviting friends over for a wine get together or even going out to attend wine soirées.
Wine Tourism
Spending time at wineries proved to be both a learning experience and a way to keep away from the mobile screen.
Visit to Art Galleries
Whether at India or travelling abroad, I made it a point to pursue my interest in art by visiting various art galleries.
Fine Wine Dining
Family dinners with fine wine was another way to reduce screen time. It keeps your senses engaged making you forget about surfing online.
Wine Masterclasses
Wine seminars and masterclasses are often conducted in the city and I started keeping a track of such events. These again are very interesting and engrossing and keep you away from electronic gadgets.
Wine Club
Becoming a regular at the wine club keeps me occupied atleast once in a month and sometimes twice. Sometimes I leave my mobile phone back at home to get fully immersed in the wine experience.
Travelling
Travelling is a way to feel and experience the world and it can keep you away from your iPhones, tabs and laptops for long stretches time. Having lots of spare time now, we have been travelling quite extensively immersing in the beauty of the physical world.
So these are certain ways in which I managed my screen time to keep it within limits. There certainly are times of slip ups and getting back to checking the net but with so many offline activities to pursue, such occasions have become few and far between. Cheers !!
