Category: Embracing Digital Minimalism

Have you looked in a mirror lately?  We hear that expression a lot these days. It asks someone to reflect on their own behavior before critizing others. Most people, though, are no longer interested in that kind of microscopic self-scrutiny. Instead, they look at their phones. Tech devices are the modern go-to tools for self-awareness. Notifications flashing across a screen provide instant love from virtual…

I’ve never been known to shy away from outrage. Pick a subject, any subject, and I can probably work myself into a lather over it. Once, I was even asked if I was outraged over the birth of quintuplets at a hospital in Ottawa.  It happened on Morningside, a popular 1980’s radio program in my country. Once…

When my children were young, I consulted a lot of parenting books and magazines looking for help. On the subject of character building, I latched onto a particularly useful and memorable piece of advice.  “Try to do a good deed every day,” I instructed Lilly and her younger brother Jay, parroting an article I’d read…

Like everyone else on the planet, I need a respite from the noise of the Internet. What if digital technology offered a path to tranquility? Would I be violating my commitment to digital minimalism? Not if it adds value to my life.  Not everything about technology is necessarily negative. There can be positives too. The…

The only certainty is uncertainty. As The Expat Expert, I used to commiserate a lot with other expat wives over those five words. Like me, they were never sure where in the world their husband’s career might take them next. Nor did they know when they might be moving, at least not until their partner told them.  That lack of control…

Wouldn’t it be perfect if human bodies had a factory reset switch? Turn it and marvel as unwanted pounds, products of our perennial season of over-indulgence, disappear. Hit it again and digital addiction never existed. I discovered a reasonable facsimile of that switch exists in all of us. Here’s what happened.             While fighting cabina fever during Costa…