Lessons From a Computer in Shutdown Mode
Last week my computer decided to die, or rather, take a little rest. I never thought that my computer would give me ideas to write about, but alas it has. So here we go.
9AM on a Monday morning I was on a two hour zoom call and from the beginning I noticed that while the computer was plugged in (and had been plugged in all night) the battery was at 50% and dwindling.
My eyes constantly glancing up to the corner of my screen as the battery life indicator dropped by the minute. Panic and frustration were starting to arrive. Oh dear lord, seriously, this computer is less than six months old, why isn’t it charging?!?! The plug was working just fine with my phone, I swapped outlet that I was using, nothing. Within an hour the battery was dead, refusing to charge, and I stared at the black screen. I now had a lovely thousand dollar paperweight.
I finished the video call from my phone, attempting to be semi present and not totally distracted by my new paperweight, and was immediately on to Apple’s site to figure out where I could get an appointment as soon as possible to take it in. Sure enough, a highly rated authorized repair spot in Berkeley had appointments. Done. Booked in for two hours later.
Now you might not think that this is of importance or relevant but it’s this swift action and my ‘need’ to have my computer working again that has provided me with so many insights.
I have numerous other things in my life - like car repairs, doctors appointments, follow ups that I’ve been saying I’d get to and just haven’t. They’ve not presented themselves as pressing enough to become urgent or absolutely necessary. They’re low profile enough to be in the background and secondary. And in some cases, I have a workaround that’s easier to deal with (or so I rationalize in my head) than actually doing the damn thing that really should get done.
It’s often only when something becomes incredibly urgent that action is taken - and swift action.
And as it turns out my computer was just having a momentary revolt against me, or at least that’s what it appears to be. The repair shop told me it would be a few days before they could get to my computer. However, I got a call a day or so later that when they’d plugged the computer in it worked. Ha, seriously? It decided to start working again?!?
So I took this as my computer’s message that it needed a rest. A little holiday to refresh, relax, and recharge - pun intended.
When I picked up the computer and all seemed to be working just fine I realized that I rarely actually turn it off, it’s always just going in the background with loads of windows and tabs open. I don’t necessarily run a lot of programs or taxing stuff but I always have random things open and then forget about them. A reminder that everything (and everyone) needs a break, a moment to restart, and if we run too long without that there’s a chance for automatic shutdown mode to take over and it’s usually at the most inopportune time.
So it got me thinking… this is the way that so many of us lead our lives.
We don’t action on something until it’s urgent and feels like we can’t get on without it.
We push things to the background and suppress them until another day, until we can’t ignore it anymore.
We have a funny way of deciding what gets priority and attention when there are alternatives and workarounds available, until they no longer work.
This happens in all aspects of our life. There are ignored conversations that lead to blow ups. There’s turning a blind eye to situations at work until they become scandal, harmful, or any of the many ways that companies become toxic and/or spiral out of control. And most dangerous to each of us is running ourselves ragged and to the point of exhaustion because there’s always something more pressing or seemingly urgent than our own individual health, happiness, or well-being. This only results in the body at some point reaching its breaking point and, as my computer decided to do, just shutting down.
How many of us are at full processing capacity, nearing shutdown mode, and still trying to cram more in. More work, more commitments, more, more, more.
The reality is less is more. Use your energy, time, and resources wisely. And yes, it’s hard to say no and can be incredibly difficult to do what seems like going against everyone else and what is expected. But I’m here to remind you that you have a choice. Getting to automatic shutdown mode, blowup, whatever it may be is not fun and the repercussions are much longer lasting than we probably anticipate. Choosing to take a moment to slow down, to take an inventory of what’s already on your plate (or shoved into the background) before automatically saying yes, and owning your energy puts you in control. Don’t leave it til it’s suddenly urgent. Don’t wait for some day or the right day or whatever the rationalizing part of your mind wants to use as an escape plan.
Take the time now, slow down, breathe. Consider where you’re pushing things into the background, waiting until it’s really urgent to deal with, and/or reaching max capacity.
Maybe it’s addressing something at work, having a difficult conversation today to avoid something even more painful at some point down the road, or finally taking time off for rest and relaxation.
I’m trying to give my computer a little extra love this week and remember to give it time to shutdown and restart every once in a while. Maybe I’ll even get around to those other little things that are floating around out there that I know soon will become urgent and I’ll be in a panic over.
What do you need to do the same with to avoid shutdown mode?
xoxo
jessie