Wi-fi slow? A few ideas for some simple (but surprisingly productive) things to do offline

With more people working from home, I have found my internet speed is slowing down and sometimes cutting out altogether. If that's happening to you then consider simply going offline for a change. Now, if you really need to be online, say for work for example, you can check this article from Time with some helpful tips to solve slow internet problems. Otherwise here are 5 super-beneficial things you could be doing that don’t need an internet connection.

Read a book – an actual book with real paper pages

I know I know you can use your Kindle or Kobo or any otherwise oddly named E-reader even offline. But I challenge you to read a real book with real pages. Human beings are tactile creatures.

There is something authentic and satisfying about the experience of touching the texture of real paper and flipping a page versus looking at a screen. So even if you have the option of your e-reader, while offline, go all the way and read a paper book. It could be an old favourite, or a book you have always wanted to read but never made time for. Now’s the time—get it, sit by the fireplace or window with a cup of tea or coffee and dive in.

You will not only enjoy it, but you could also learn a new thing or two.

Meditate

Few things will give you the benefits that meditation can (link opens as a video in a new window). And yes, while apps like HeadSpace and Calm help, you might want to disconnect from them especially with choppy Wi-fi and just spend a few minutes in deep, mindful breathing.

You can focus on things you are grateful for, visualize your ideal self or just quietly repeat a phrase that is meaningful to you. Mindfulness is incredibly powerful and if there was ever a time we needed it, now is the time.

It will also help you forget about how bad your Wi-fi connection is by likely giving you some perspective.

Exercise

I talked about this one in my previous post on staying productive and healthy while working from home, but its worth repeating here. Sure, it helps to be able to stream your favourite workout playlist from Spotify or YouTube, but let’s face it—you don’t “need” Kanye West, Trap Nation, Taylor Swift (or whoever you listen to when you work out) to get some exercise done!

Besides, you likely have some of those tracks available offline anyway. So turn off the Wi-Fi and get moving! I know we are social distancing at the moment but you can open up your windows and do some simple exercises in your living room. Or, if you have the yard space, you can exercise in your backyard while maintaining a healthy distance from other homo sapiens.

The gains of exercise go beyond physical—the endorphins released after exercise help boost your mood and the workout helps you sleep better as well—which is great for your overall health and well-being.

Journal with good old-fashioned pen and paper

This is a great time to document your days, your thoughts and your experiences. Journaling can be very soothing and is a powerful coping mechanism for stress. As Dr. Tim Wilson notes in his book Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change, people who journal about their experiences are more likely to overcome negative emotions than those who don’t.

The best part is you don’t need the internet to journal. You just need a notebook and a pen/pencil. On top of that, don’t be surprised if you find yourself penning some deep and powerful prose in the process that provides you some pleasant and surprising insights into yourself. Nothing beats that feeling when a few weeks from now, you open up that journal and read your thoughts—you will have a great time doing so.

Long before writing or publishing articles, my earliest memory of ever writing creatively was a time when I was about 8 years old. I wrote about a frustrating fight I had had with my older sister. When I stumbled upon the book years later, I smiled as I read the entry. My sister and I are best friends today but I am grateful for that fight we had decades ago—it gave me my first taste of journaling and though I can’t say I have journaled everyday since the age of 8 till now, I can confidently say that when I have, it has been extremely rewarding.

Maybe you can use this lock down to discover journaling it too. And maybe a few years down the line, when this is all behind you, you too will look back and smile.

Have face-to-face conversations

What I am talking about is real face-to-face, non-technology-mediated conversations. There is a curious behaviour I have observed and even taken part in in recent times. I call it “face-to-face-texting”. That is, the act of texting someone in the same house or even the same room as you are. I mean, there they are literally within ear-shot, sometimes within sight. But instead of talking, we reach for our phones and text them. Weird.

I know technically, Wi-fi doesn’t necessarily impact texting, but on the theme of going offline, I am adding this any way. Have real face-to-face conversations. They can be incredibly fun! Once I looked out of the window of my home office, and spied two of my neighbours, wine glass in hand, about 12 feet apart, standing on their patios, sharing what appeared to be a very animated conversation about…. Something. I’m sure the wine helped with the animation. For some reason, it was heart-warming.

You may (or may not) like your neighbours enough to spend a long time talking with them, but you can start with the people you live with. With the poor Wi-fi, there has never been a better time to just hang out and talk… about whatever. Tech is great but we evolved language long before tech, and we still connect best when we just come face to face… and talk. So, go drag someone in your house out of their lair and have a chat.

Go offline

There are more things you can do offline of course. These are just 5 of the ones I think we could all do safely and that don’t take too much time or planning to do. Try them and you might find yourself, rather than yelling at your router, saying instead, “thank God the Wi-fi slowed down” (Said no one ever 😊)

Until the next article, be your best.

End Notes

Books I’m reading these days

Sapiens – Yuval Noah Harari

Meditations – Marcus Aurelius

On Strategy – HBR

Select chapters from The Book of Isaiah

My Mediation Practice (Total ~ 25 minutes)

~15 minutes of listening intently and quietly to inspirational music

~5 minutes of quiet contemplation

~ 5 minutes of journaling

My stay-at-home exercise routine (Total ~35 minutes)

It varies but generally involves:

~15 minutes of body-weight exercises (push ups, sit ups etc.)

~10 minutes of jump rope (with rest periods included).

~10 minutes of stretching (sometimes)

Journaling

Incorporated as part of the mindfulness practice.

People I am talking to (Total ~however long it takes or they can stand)

My wife

My daughters

My neighbours (with physical distancing of course. Wine is optional 😊)