## WTF Happened During the latter half of 2019, I began an intentional process of “unsubscribing” from the world and modern society at-large. At the beginning of the pandemic, our family moved to a quiet suburb of a mid-sized, midwestern city. By the middle of 2023, I’d disconnected from 90+ percent of the distractions plaguing my overstimulated, oversaturated, burned out, and exhausted mind, body and soul. It will never be 100 percent. The outside world will always find a way to intrude. It’s a lot like a game of whack-a-mole. If you destroy those little f’ers nine out of ten times, you’ve made significant progress. ## What I Do Now Mostly I read, blog, compose music, learn new skills and try to be the best husband and father I can. I also run the operations side of our family business so my wife can focus on her [work](https://www.erinacraig.com). ## So What Is This “Unsubscription” Thing? It’s really easy… in theory. If something doesn’t deliver value… if something has zero meaning… it’s gotta go. There’s no way you can accomplish this all at once. It’s a process. And it can be painful. Nothing worth having comes without a fight. ## Where Do I Start? Start with your inbox. Any inbox will do. Unsubscribe from email blasts for products you know you’re never going to buy. Unsubscribe from all of those newsletters you’re never going to read. Got that “friend” on social media that’s always stirring up some kind of drama? There’s a button for that. In fact, there are several buttons for that. Press one of them. Or all of them. Look at how much progress you’ve made already. ## Now What? Read a couple of books: - [Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World](https://bookshop.org/p/books/digital-minimalism-choosing-a-focused-life-in-a-noisy-world-cal-newport/12081448?ean=9780525536512) - [Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!: How to Take Back Our Time, Attention, and Purpose in a World Designed to Bury Us in Bullshit](https://bookshop.org/p/books/please-unsubscribe-thanks/18910759?ean=9781668009543) Then… **one at a time**… implement some of the suggestions. (By the way, folks get hung up on the process. Don’t. In two short paragraphs, you’ve got a process to follow. Yes… that was intentional.) ## Then What? A couple of strong suggestions: 1. Be vigilant in allowing the non-value sources into your life… or back into your life. 2. Go do something that is productive and gives you joy. ## Joy? Yes… joy. Go for a walk. Play an instrument. Help a neighbor. Plant a garden. Draw something. Paint something. For f’s sake, turn off the news… log out of social media… and let your boomer relatives shout and shake their fists at MSNBC or Fox News. If that’s the way they want to spend the remaining years of their life, that’s their f’ing choice. It doesn’t have to be yours. ## Now What? Get to it.