Just want to note that I think I’ve landed upon an interesting little tool to remind me to take a step back and breathe every once and a while in the form of InnerTwitter. In the spirit of the Buddhist tradition, every hour InnerTwitter sends me a tweet “chime”, reminding me to pause, get settled in the moment, reflect on what I’m doing, and just slooooowww down. As someone who as attempted (and usually failed) at practicing a Zen lifestyle, and as a Twitter addict (there’s a real issue with those two ideas, I fear), it’s been kind of an interesting way of getting a little more balance in my day.
If you want to give it a try, there are three different “chime” schedules you can “follow” on Twitter. “Mindful15” (sends a chime every 15 minutes), “Mindful1PerHour“, or “Mindful1PerDay“.
I know on some level that it’s downright sad (and possibly scary) that I feel the need to resort to a regular Tweet to remind me that there are things more important in life than Twitter. (Pardon the blasphemy!) Something about any port in a storm seems to fit right about now…
Enjoy!
Or not.
I get lost in your trail of circular logic…but thanks for the reminder.
Will, I follow you on Twitter – thank God – and found this tool through your tweet. It’s been amazing! I opted for the random times option, and the first one popped up yesterday. I got to walk away from the computer, stretch, get some water, adjust my posture, and get back to work recharged and refocussed. So, thank you for the lead and hope you find the balance too :-).
Thanks, Will. I’ll give this a try. I’ve actually been getting a little annoyed with Twitter lately, given its relentlessness and ability to capture my attention — no matter what else I might want to pay attention to. But an InnerTwitter tool actually makes sense to me, and I’ll try it to find out whether it becomes more useful or annoying over time.
I’ve been making a collection of posts that have come across my screen over the last week or so referring to information overload. It doesn’t hurt to have “someone” whisper in your ear every now and again to keep your balance. Thanks, as always, for sharing.
Ann Oro just directed me here after I tweeted about following @mindful1PerHour. Interesting thing is that I hadn’t yet read this! Cosmically creepy! Thanks for sharing – I think we are all looking for ways to balance, no matter what they might be. Great find!
I think that it is great that it offers features like that! It is not very hard to be caught up with different things; it’s the kind of society we are living in. Sometime it is nice to just be able to sit back and realize it’s time to slow down and take everything in. We need to stop living in fast forward! It may be necessary to have a reminder, but at least you are willing to take advantage of it! : ) I hope that it continues to go so well for you!
You’ve got to be kidding. If it has gotten to the point where we use a tool to remind us to be aware, that’s beyond sad.
Siddhartha is rolling in his grave.