The New York Times’ Mark Bittman found himself helplessly attached to his technology – it got so bad he was sleeping with a laptop next to his bed so checking his email could be the first thing he did in the morning and the last thing he did before he went to bed.

He decided enough was enough, and tried to take a 24 hour “Secular Sabbath,” unplugging all of his electronic and communication devices to take some time off from being Connected To The World. At first, he was apprehensive:

I worried about the colleagues, friends, daughters, parents and so on who relied on me, the people who knew that whether I was home or away I would get back to them, if not instantly then certainly before the end of the day. What if something important was happening, something that couldn’t wait 24 hours?

… but as the day went on, he got calmer, and actually found he was able to be more productive.

Huh. I bet any one of us could have told him that.

I guess, even though I’m using a GPS and digital camera, hiking has always been my ‘Secular Sabbath.’ One of the reasons I never take an iPod with me on the trail is that I like just hearing the wind, birds, and water instead of the city noise we’re subjected to every other day. The calm I feel from hiking is even more pronounced when I’m backpacking for a few days.

Read the full article at the NYT, to learn how Bittman got more relaxed, learned how to get more done, and saw how the trend is starting to sneak into the corporate world.

… or, if you don’t want to unplug, just wait a few years for electricity-generating microfiber hiking pants.

Via Lifehacker.

Photo by *nathan.

Tags: new york times, secular sabbath, unplugging