Time to switch off and slow down?

[Steve]

The World moves quicker these days, at least the people on it do. We're all wired up, communicating, conferencing, interfacing and what not, but do we ever just switch off? The BBC is running an interesting story today:

journalist Carl Honoré told attendees of the TED conference in Oxford they should unplug and slow down in a world that was stuck in fast- forward.

And for a wired world accustomed to having nearly unlimited information and the boundless choices of online shopping, it seems almost heretical to suggest that the infinite possibilities of the modern world leave us less satisfied instead of more.

But author Barry Schwartz told the conference that it was better when we had only a few choices of salad dressing instead of the 175 at his local supermarket.

Less is more, and slower is better, apparently. What do you think... Could you just 'switch off' for a day?

[nichomach]

The author of In Praise of Slowness decided to decelerate after he found himself speed reading bedtime stories to his son.

Sorry, but he's just a prat with poor self-control; if he found himself doing that then the problem's with him, not the choices and facilities available to him. So there's 175 choices of salad dressing at his local supermarket; boo hoo - no-one's forcing him to try them all and his world won't end if he tries one and doesn't like it. Yes, I could and frequently do "switch off" for a day, and that's the point. You don't HAVE to act in the manner he describes, it's a choice.

[Mike Fishcake]

Sorry, but he's just a prat with poor self-control; if he found himself doing that then the problem's with him, not the choices and facilities available to him. So there's 175 choices of salad dressing at his local supermarket; boo hoo - no-one's forcing him to try them all and his world won't end if he tries one and doesn't like it. Yes, I could and frequently do "switch off" for a day, and that's the point. You don't HAVE to act in the manner he describes, it's a choice.

Amen to that!

Some people think that because they do something, that everybody else does it. Moron.

[rajagra]

You don't HAVE to act in the manner he describes, it's a choice.

True.

You can choose to be competitive in a job market that demands and expects (and sadly, gets) long work hours and 24/7 callout for emergencies.

Or you can choose the alternatives: unemployment, or underpaid jobs.

Some choice!

[nichomach]

Or you can choose to take a little bit less money than the market would indicate, work for a firm that actually has a decent attitude to its employees, and avoid precisely the sort of thing that you're talking about. If by "underpaid", you mean "doesn't command the same rates as jobs with insanely long hours and 24 hour call out", well, what do you expect? Again, it's a choice.

[Moby-Dick]

Indeed - just work smarter , not longer.

Unpaid overtime (60hr+ weeks and up to 21 days without a break ) was why I left my last job - I dont indend for it to happen again.

EDIT: when I bougt this up - I was told "thats what people do these days". Its not what I do.

I work to live , not live to work.

[Mike Fishcake]

True.

You can choose to be competitive in a job market that demands and expects (and sadly, gets) long work hours and 24/7 callout for emergencies.

Or you can choose the alternatives: unemployment, or underpaid jobs.

Some choice!

I feel sorry for you, that you feel like that. If all you're after is money, then yes, that's what you get. But a lot of people forget that it shouldn't *just* be about the money. I could probably get slightly better pay for what I do if I moved to a huge corporation, but I probably wouldn't get the respect and friendly work environment that I get here.