I stopped using technology to track my health

For many years, I’ve been wearing one of those watches that track your steps and monitor your sleep.

I’ve always checked my phone every morning to see how I slept or how many steps I took that day. These metrics guided my life, and while this technology can be helpful, it also distances you from what’s most important: being connected with yourself.

Your body is the best technology for understanding how you feel. Have you ever taken 10 minutes to sit quietly with your eyes closed? When you do, it’s easy to notice any aches in your body.

Have you ever considered whether you really need the coffee you drink every morning without fail? Do you drink it just “to have energy” or out of habit? Your body is telling you what’s going on, but you may not be paying attention.

Everything that happens to us is within us, and our bodies warn us. We all know when we’ve had a good night’s sleep and when we haven’t. You don’t need a watch to tell you that you had 80% recovery today.

We all know when a food is upsetting our stomachs, and if you don’t, it might be because you’re eating so unconsciously that you’re unable to notice. But you can feel it—just observe how inflamed your body is.

We’ve lost so much connection with our bodies that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be well-rested, to live without inflammation from our diet, or simply to have natural energy.

That’s why I’ve decided to stop using technology for something that I believe starts with pausing and being mindful of everything you do throughout the day and how it affects your body.

Because the answers are within you, and no technology, no matter how advanced, will help you discover them.

Today’s recommendations

This week I’m kind of hating on technology, so I’m going to keep raging about it with all my recommendations.

• I Kinda Hate Everything About Tech. I love every article in this newsletter and I so agree with this one. And I love it when someone rants about a subject I’m interested in. There’s something magical about it.
• How are you writing the story of your life?. “Everybody wants to write about story craft but nobody wants to write great stories. Everybody is writing about how to live a great life or how great their life is but nobody is writing about how they’re living their life right now.”
• Heat Death of the Internet. Another rant about the Internet itself and the current tools and websites we use most of the time. Very good.

New projects coming up

Last week, I was busy with a new client, but I’ve also been researching how to build a new app: a radio of natural sounds.

Natural sounds (biological or geophysical) are beneficial for us as humans. For instance, bird sounds are the most effective at reducing stress, while water sounds are the best for boosting our mood.

Right now, I’m exploring where to source these sounds and how to curate them. I’ve talked to the folks at Earth.fm, but I’m still uncertain if that will be the solution I choose.

Additionally, I want to start my first pop-up newsletter, which is a newsletter that runs for a specific, limited time.

The newsletter will focus on silence, and since absolute silence doesn’t exist, I’ll be sharing videos I’ve recorded over the past couple of years in different natural locations.

That’s my current plan, and I’ll share more updates later.