As I sit in my home office thinking of what to write for tonight’s entry, I look around the room.

It’s dimly lit, and there are two bookcases to my right full of books with several more books scattered throughout the desk and table space. I have Barry Manilow’s Paradise Café album playing in the background. It’s a quiet night outside, and I’ve positioned my laptop to face the window. To my left are the darkened monitors I use for work and in the wall behind them is a painting I purchased a few years ago. I can’t think of a better place I’d like to be right now, and somehow calling my little haven a “home office” just doesn’t cut it. From now on, I will call it my study. It may seem a bit old-fashioned, but that’s what I love about it. 

I think it’s necessary–at least for me– to simplify your life and pull away from the ultra-fast pace of the world today. In the spirit of taking a respite from the fast-paced world, I just took a few seconds to delete all the social media apps from my phone. I won’t delete my profile on those because there are many memories. Still, I really don’t need the temptation of endlessly scrolling through curated glimpses of other people’s lives. A few years ago, I was one of those incessant posters on social media. I think part of the reason I don’t remember the particulars of what I was eating during those fancy dinners was due to my obsession with photographing everything I ate; then spend 15 minutes editing the pictures and crafting the perfect description.

As I give more thought to this simplifying my life and eliminating distractions, I am considering giving up social media entirely during Lent. Giving up streaming services crossed my mind, but that would be a big sacrifice for me. Not that I sit around watching videos all day, but the videos I do watch help provide me with a little mindless escape from work. 

Now to bring this post back a full circle: I am grateful for this space I have and sincerely enjoy the way I have arranged it. It may be boring by most people’s measures, but it is precisely the environment I need. An environment that inspires me to continue learning.