I spend time thinking about time. This is not a terribly productive task but it is inevitable when you feel you have more things to do in a day then there are hours. Everyone goes down that route. For business, for education, while raising young kids, whatever.

Try as I may to stretch it, there are only 24 hours in a day and the ability to multi-task caps out quickly. Sure I can eat my lunch, check emails and talk on the phone all at once (between bites & swallows) but there are many tasks that require dedicated time.

I can't read two serious pieces of literature at once, nor engage in two real in-person conversations simultaneously (I think the bibilcial people call this talking in tongues - you sound like an idiot).

The world encourages full-time plug-in. Connectivity is wireless and portable. The devourers of time sit in your pocket, or your purse and slowly eat away your existence. But not unassisted.

We must be honest, we allow this to happen, no one is forcing us online 24/7.

Admittedly, we live in a period of rapid social change and the historian in me makes me think back to an earlier such period, the 1960's, where the social "prophets" who may not have had the right answers at least caused people to ask the right questions.

Timothy Leary said "Turn on, tune in, drop out".

Maybe fine for that era (a bit before my time) but the last thing I need now is more mind altering substances, more stimuli, we have media for that. Perhaps we need to adapt and update this idea for the 21st century.

I think maybe we need to "Turn off, tune in, drop by".

So let's power down the electronics, and go talk with a friend, or read a book.

The web is great (I live there), but when time flees, we need to think about allocating it wisely.

Kick off the shoes. Breath deeply. Shutdown. Your batteries need re-charging.

I will try & heed my own advice.

Cheers