Walking on the Wild Side

Here's to your health, and taking control

If you need ideas on how to feel good each day, look no further.

Guess what’s happening and win a prize. The answer is in this letter. Put your guess in the comments.

To begin this week’s letter I’m including Marcel Borgstijn’s post about taking control of our time each day.  Days keep flying past, whether we seize moments or not….

Reclaiming My Time With A Social Media Detox

Marcel talks about limiting scrolling as part of the solution.  We both know what it’s like to scroll absent-mindedly.  When I notice it, I ask myself a question.  Is the original, pre-scroll activity still worth doing?  If the answer is yes then I put the freakin’ phone away. Seriously, what was I thinking?  But if the answer is no, then it’s time to stop that thing, and choose something else.  Recommit or Quit. 

That said, what should we proactively do with our time?  We need to rejuvenate regularly.  Or if it’s daily, do we just need to juvenate? 

My good fortune

I’m a lucky guy for many reasons, but one is my environment.  Our home is in a community that has all kinds of modern conveniences.  Whatever you need. But somehow, exactly 1/2 mile from my front door, is an entirely different world.  A wild world.  A shockingly accessible juvenation location.

They even made a picture of me!

And it’s truly, densely wild.  There is so much density and diversity of wildlife that I plan to release a book with just the material from a 3-mile stretch of Goose Creek and the Potomac, in time for the holidays of 2024.¹

Even if you aren’t this fortunate

You know why I’ll be able to create a book so quickly, even though we’ve barely lived here a year?  Back to the phone. No texting, and I don’t wear freakin’ headphones while I walk! I watch people doing this and I just want to shake them awake.  No listening to a podcast, music, or phone calls.  There are times for such things, of course.  But not during juvenation time at the creek. 

Long ago I stopped trying to multitask. I know people can’t really do two things at once.  Even the smart ones can’t. Yeah, I’m talking to you, even if you’re twice as smart as me (pretty likely). Remember, I’ve got a long background in high-performance startups surrounded by Very Smart People, where most folks multitask day and night. Many of those Very Smart People still believe they get more done this way. But it’s just plain false, and for years multitasking has been shown to reduce effectiveness.  Here’s a link to one sample article from this year.²

An undistracted approach accomplishes two things. 

First, I’m allowing myself to get the full benefit of being outdoors. Part of it is “Attention Restoration Theory”. Go figure.

Second, I make more images.  I’m getting inputs from all my senses, particularly sight and sound.  When making wildlife photographs you often have only a split-second, and then the moment is gone.  The more aware you are, the greater your yield.

And don’t we all want more?  Of course we do.  It’s only natural.  (Yes, I just said that).

Here’s a sample of what you might find if you took a stroll from Goose Creek to the Potomac, and around the bend. It’s only a sample. The omitted critter list is quite long.

Juvenile bald eagle, about 10 yards away

Red fox from two days ago. There were a pair of them.

That could have been lunch buzzing past the nuthatch

Cry of the cormorant

Hoot owl, possibly the one who raised chicks this summer

Great blue heron with breakfast to go

Box turtles are more colorful than I realized

Another juvenile bald eagle

I feel like I just dissed a bunch of birds, mammals and reptiles, but this is already a long document. And I really like eagles. My apologies to the other birds of prey, all those hawks, ospreys and owls.

Up Next

Next week I’ll explain how some of this relates to learning.  You’ll want to tune in for that, because learning is also critical to health and well being. 

Thank goodness you get to read these letters once a week. With all my invaluable lessons, I’m sure you’ve been healthier ever since you began. If you’ve read each letter you’re going to live a million years, I’m certain of it!

Seriously, I do appreciate that you spent time here. You could have been anywhere else. Scrolling, even.

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Is there something here you like or dislike? Questions? Have anything else to say? Let us all know by clicking on the Comments button below, and express yourself. Don’t be shy, now.

If you like this post you’re bound to like the next one as well. I’m sending them weekly. Quit any time, or better yet, stay and read on!

Know anybody who should hear about all this? Be a friend and let them know!

Or, are you interested in seeing more work? My website welcomes you. We may even want to work together. I promise a joyous and productive experience if we do. www.dobkinphoto.com

1. If you’d like to stay informed about this, send me a note.

2. If you take conference calls while doing a stationary bike or going on a limited-distraction walk just to keep your body moving during the day, that’s great and not quite the level of “attempted multitasking” that I’ve derided herein.  I’m judgy, but I don’t want to be overly judgy. Just judgy enough, that’s my goal!