I’m a bit glad having woken up later than normal, mild headache in full, never-ending course, energy levels perturbed. This presents an interesting topic to explore.
First, I’ve become increasingly sold in the idea of that first morning hour, or rather, those initial morning ceremonies, having high influence towards the remaining day quality.
My typical procedure involves 1) get up at the Gaussian average of around 5:10AM, no alarms, no snoozes 2) make the bed 3) meditation 4) cold shower 5) sometimes exercise, sometimes reading to warm-up the creative motor.
Getting up at 6:45AM today lies completely on the thin tail end of my Gaussian curve. It feels equivalent to getting up at noon during college.
As usual during such an occasion, a perpetual, nagging headache follows. It often lingers the entire day, irrespective of the liters of water poured in. A mere child-sized portion of a medication usually does the trick, although I still refrain and remain ever eager to cultivate a more holistic approach. As far as today, I thought of a more shocking measure: handstand push-ups. After years of these on and off, I still cannot produce more than three.
Respecting the morning, is it unsalvageable? Not entirely. I still respected the aforementioned procedure to the dot. And yet upon opening the tablet, an overwhelming sense of digital fatigue unleashed upon me. This too, tends to occur during these deregulated cycles.
I normally begin any work with analog: index cards, notebook, brain. Today, the urge amplified the analog craving further. I stared at the tablet display, and immediately sensed, no, cannot do this for at least a few hours. The tablet, as if having read my mind, in less than a minute experienced a battery core dump - that case when the battery level plunges from reasonable (ie 30%) straight to zero. We sensed a mutual case of fatigue.
Relieved and analog, I proceeded to my creative endeavors by way of the old fashion pen and paper.
Incidently, my handwriting has gradually been reverting back to shit. Since the age of 30, already unreadable for well over a decade, I returned to the roots, as if back in grammar school, and retrained myself to write in proper, beautiful cursive.
These days, especially as I’ve long adapted various forms of shorthand and speed words in my note taking, the decreased (economized) interaction of my pen with the paper gradually led to haste and sloppiness. In fact, the decreased handwriting entropy (due to compacter representations), mixed with illegibility, pose a danger in terms of message decryption at any substantial later period. Somehow, I need to find a balance between economy and aesthetics.
Digital fatigue… Is there such a thing? Or is it a bi-product of my pro-analog inclination? Computer immersion certainly does increase exposure to a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, as emitted by any electrical object. Maybe I have higher sensitivity, as with caffeine, alcohol, insulin, complainers? Maybe in having greater exposure to the analog, one grows more attune to the subtle variations? Maybe I earnestly desire for digital fatigue to rupture in the opportune moments?
Whatever the case, I’ll accept and work around, hopefully to the greater benefit. For the record, the headache lounged, grew weary, and went its separate merry way, no synthetic intervention necessary.
Questions, comments? Connect.