Clickety click

I'm feeling the pressure to be online.

Because of my self-proclaimed ambition to build an expertise about the web and new media, I have been hearing the familiar critical, nagging voice in my head berating me for not posting more often, reading more often, exploring more often. In a world that is increasingly wired and where information is exchanged and is accessible in a snort, I am constantly on edge when I am not online. It's as if there are a million things to do that don't get done -- that's in addition to the things that don't get done in the offline world.

It's a shame I'm not online more often to do some substantial work and writing. Real life gets in the way, not to mention the laundry, sleeping and and having coffee. Instead I browse FB, then find myself going off to other sites when a thought hits me. I end up not finishing what I started. Most of the time I forget what I started. THus, more things end up not getting done.

Take for instance my application to a university in the US. I have been staring at my laptop for the past three weeks, trying to finish the dang application essay. I've typed something, but it's far from being acceptable. And so off I go checking samples online. I hop and hop til the time I allotted for the task has run out. Oh world wide web. Why do you tempt me so?

But I suppose it's not because of the Web, but because I procrastinate and compare what I have with the others have. I am locked into a cycle of analysis paralysis because of all the information that overwhelms me. And all of these are available as long as I type the right word.

Ka-Ching! Another reason to stall.

Sometimes all the options at our fingertips can make it harder to decide. While we benefit from the access we suffer too from information glut. There has to be a way to get over the addiction of searching and clicking hyperlinks. While the offline world presents many viable options, I think the most effective one is to simply turn of the wi-fi router, and remember there's still an analog world to deal with, and a life to live, outside of the web.

It's 2011. I hope to write more, be distracted less, love more, criticize less, explore more, berate myself less. Smile more, hug more, give thanks. And it will all start with this happy medium.