(This is the fourth in a series of five posts this week on Humanizing Technology)

This week is all about humanizing tech at gwenbell.com. Which is a little ironic, now that I think about it, considering that earlier this year I told one of my business partners that I want to change my last name from “Bell” to “Bell Dot Com.” He wasn’t surprised. And I’m still contemplating it.

Where were we? Well, to re-cap, on Monday we talked about preventing burn out by learning to say “no” to devices and “yes” to HITs. On Tuesday we covered how to lead with our hearts in social settings. Yesterday we talked about setting the container. Today, we talk about how to go slow.

Dial-up is A’ight

My grandmother is 73 years young. We vid chat about once a week. When I ask her to start a blog she politely declines, but she does read mine. She and my grandfather still have a dial-up connection at their house…I have broached the subject of DSL with her. Talking about wi-fi and the fact that you can connect to the internet without physically plugging a computer into the wall is a little beyond her. I understand that and when her eyes glaze over I switch back to neutral ground. Know your audience. Speak to their level (and it may mean slowing down to do so) rather than expecting them to speed up to yours.

Appreciate the slow. Take time with the people that go slower than you (read: kids and older folks). They get something we often forget: slow is good.

Unplugging Takes Time

It takes time to unplug from our various networks. It’s going to get harder still. But I believe the future is in the hands of those that are fully engaged when plugged in and completely relaxed and unplugged during off-line times. Unplug at least once a week (and this may even mean leaving the mobile device at home for a day–what’s the worst that could happen?) let’s see what happens.

Try it in February. Yes, that’s tomorrow. Report back to me.

Unplugging allows us to slow down and enjoy our HITs to the max.

3 Ways to Unplug

1. Create a schedule of what you actually do throughout the day. Is it possible to schedule in off-line time once a day? A few times a day? Do it.

2. Contact a yoga or meditation teacher.

3. Do it. Make it a challenge. See how often you can unplug. I once tried to do it for a month (no internet whatsoever) and I failed. I’m sure you could do better.

The question is, do you have what it takes?