A release from Wifi – good or bad?
Last week a lightening storm gave us a momentary power cut, which in turn played havoc with the wifi. The home hub modem was running rather hot and kept switching itself to the, ‘emergency, I’m not working now’ mode. We were able to get about 10 minutes of Wifi each morning until it turned off.
No 3G here let alone 4G! We live in the countryside and O2 is very selective as to where the signal will reach. Walk into the middle of a field and you may get it. Hang outside the kitchen door at 6am and you can connect for about five minutes if you’re lucky!
It couldn’t have happened at a worse time for me. The Friday of a Bank Holiday weekend. BT were unable to send an engineer until the following Thursday (who failed turn up anyway, but that’s another story!) I needed to place an order via email that required the downloading of a form, me signing it, scanning and then emailing back. This was a logistical challenge I could have done without. Neighbours couldn’t help as they were either away, or had no printer ink for their scanner.
We got breakfast!
So, we ended up in The wharf at Langport for breakfast so I could hook into their wifi and download the form. There’s always an upside! Then off to Staples in torrential rain, to print it off, and across the car park to Costa to email it back. I had promised a client that this order for her Kangen machine would be placed at the weekend, and although I had contacted her to explain the delay, I am professional through and through, and wanted it sorted!
I was able to nip on to Twitter and Facebook and explain my lack of activity, while I had the use of internet for a few moments. Thank heavens for hot spots and cafes with Wifi!
I needed to place my online organic food shop with Abel and Cole and an intermittent 3G signal wasn’t going to be any help. How we rely on our internet for so much. I wanted a recipe, but couldn’t look it up, and I couldn’t check my business banking either.
I was six days without the use of Wifi.
Six days with just a ten minute window to hop on and check emails. This meant I had to be selective to the ones I opened, and that made me realise I don’t actually need to have all of those emails dropping in my box every day! I have now unsubscribed from quite a few.
I also learnt that I could do what I needed on social media, and then go. No mindless scrolling! I would take a moment to reply to people who had commented on posts or contacted me on messenger – One of my pet hates is when people on Face Book ask for your thoughts on something, you answer, and you don’t even get an acknowledgment. Not even a little thumbs up! I know why many people do this – it’s a networking strategy to gain engagement. If you want to engage, then be thankful to those who took a moment to reply. (Small Rant)
Things I have been grateful for:
Being able to rest my neck and shoulders. Continued laptop use and looking down causes all sorts of postural issues!
BT Hot Spot places that I could go to check my accounts. Even if it meant a car journey.
Mailchimp newsletter scheduling – I had already written the June newsletter so I could relax. If you aren’t on the mailing list, click here.
3G – when it was available – even if it meant standing on one leg!
Being organised with business Face Book posts and scheduling in. I always knew it was a good idea!
Pen and paper. Simple, but I really used it last week to make notes.
A rest….. I was very thankful for a rest from scrolling! It can really consume you.
Do what you need to do, and get off. Take a break. Have a rest. If you don’t, the universe will do something to make you stop. For me this was frying my Home Hub! Six days…. six whole days!
But now…. I’m back! I’m back with a lesson to share. Be grateful for the technology we have. We need it.
#O2 #breathe #restorative #abelandcole #internet #socialmedia #facebook #stress #kangenwater #mindfulness #deadlines #twitter #wifi #BT
