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Kevin Butler and the Temple of Doom Scrolling

Mexico 2026
One of my resolutions for 2026 was to stop endless scrolling on my phone. At just over two months into the year it is time to take stock of the progress or lack thereof. I would argue that I'm not a "Doomscroller" really. Really I'm not.  I'm just a news junkie. Or maybe in these current times it is important to stay on top of the news. I wonder what is happening in Iran right now. I should go check.

Ok, I'm back. Nothing new in the headlines. 

I got rid of the Google News feed from my phone so I'm not being pulled down that rabbit hole. Google knows me well enough to serve up a smörgåsbord of interesting stories from cycling and photography to early retirement and technology. It was easy to get pulled in for an hour when I just planned to "check the news". But the WSJ app? The Daily Mail for my UK tabloid press? Those are still there to pull me back. And if that weren't enough, a Slack group with channels neatly tailored to nearly all of my interests.

The James Bond films were not part of my childhood. Between the lothario James Bond and his questionable, one might argue, "morals", I missed the classics. So in 2026 I have endeavored to go through them in order to see what I was missing. I loved the Ian Fleming novels. I sped through them one summer so quickly I should probably read the cycle again. I guess where I'm heading with this, is that while watching the Bond films, I find my attention drawn away to my phone. What's new? What's interesting? What watch should I buy next? Do I need a new camera lens?  I'm missing the cinematography and nuance because my attention is elsewhere. And it isn't just Bond. It is everywhere.

I've spent a year reading the story of the British quest for Everest in the years after the Great War. Into the Silence demands attention. I need to finish it. The writing deserves more attention than I'd give my phone. It is just that good. But my phone is always there! Always bright and shiny and new.

What's the solution? Other than feeling like a failure at the 18% mark of 2026? I still have 82% of the year to correct course. 

  1. I've put a book downstairs by the couch where I cuddle up with the dog. The Dig Tree on the exploration of the center of the Australian continent in the 1860's is there to give an alternative to phone. 
  2. I need to finish Into the Silence and feel the satisfaction that comes from completing something big. Then find the next big book to read! 
  3. Start working down my list of personal chores. I have a long list of things I need to do so that the bikes are ready for the outdoor cycling season that will hopefully start soon. I have decades of digital photos to organize and last year's travel photos of Egypt along with France and Northern Ireland to process, print or post.
  4. Get on the house projects that simply require "doing". Last year was my first year of  true retirement and ChatGPT helped me reflect on the year and remarked it was a year of decompression from a high stress career. That was a spot-on assessment.  Now that I've decompressed, however, it is time to start taking action in life rather than coasting through the days.
We'll circle back in a few months and see how this feels.

What are your solutions? Comment on this post and let me know!

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