I wrote that piece a few months ago when I was taking time off. Now that I'm back at work (I work for O'Reilly Media's Radar group) it's like being an alcoholic working behind a bar. I'm having a much harder time with it. I try to do intermittent fasting and I still won't touch my phone/email before about 10am - I even got a separate alarm clock so I wouldn't be relying on my phone for that.
You have a similar problem to food addicts (I was/am one). You can't completely abstain, so you have to find strategies. Things that have helped:
Planning: Determine in advance what you will consume and when.
Support: Find others like you that you can use for support (just not on Twitter ;).
Self-empowerment: 12-steps call this your "higher power", but I think that brings too many religious overtones (even though they explicitly say it's not meant to). Regardless, there is a power we have (or are given, if you are religious), but you have to dig for it. The journey is what provides the power.
While that is certainly true, I, personally, would never do that because it would put me in a situation that the combination of biology (real hunger) and emotion (haven't eaten in a day!) would put me in an extremely dangerous place. Instead, I go for routine: regular, small meals; don't ever get really hungry; etc. Couple that with eating high quality food that you actually want to eat, and it has served me well.
You are in a different boat. You physically can abstain forever, but your career doesn't allow you to. I could see how abstaining would be a very helpful option there.
Wow, I had a very similar thought when I first read about infovegan - that it was a poor term for what he was trying to describe. I posted this comment on the "Why Infovegan" page a few months ago:
>I wish the term gave more clues as to its meaning. Dozens of diets are about intentionally restricting foods for health reasons. Veganism doesn't have a monopoly on dietary restriction. Nor does it imply avoiding processed foods or additives. In fact, several other diets have those guidelines baked right into their core philosophies (e.g. raw diets). You're probably too invested at this point, but I think "infoforager" would be more indicative of the meaning here (carrying a lot less baggage too, but perhaps that is a disadvantage for you).
>Once that basic idea — that in the timeline of human history and pre-history we simply haven’t had time to adapt to our new circumstances — took root in my brain it seemed natural to apply it to other domains besides food.
Indeed, it's an incredibly powerful and flexible idea (exhibit A: http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html)! Unfortunately, many circles (e.g. skeptical community) will dismiss it out of hand because it smells like the naturalistic fallacy... also because skeptics tend to treat anything other than unquestioning embrace of new technologies as anti-science.
You should check out Jaron Lanier's book You Are Not A Gadget. Very thoughtful philosophical treatment of digital technology and its limitations.
Personally, in the last year I've drastically cut back on my time online and upped the time spent in the real world, whether visiting with friends & family, playing pool at the pub down the street, biking in the city, whatever. It's a much more immediate, and in many ways richer, source of information than Twitter, Facebook, etc. Oh, and I've gone back to a feature phone from a smartphone after realizing it was basically a shiny tracking device in my pocket with an expensive monthly upkeep ;-)
I've read it and found myself nodding a lot while I dug through it. However, I felt like his points were scattered and, what am I trying to say here, a bit instinctual. I found myself instinctively agreeing but thought that his points were mostly assertions without basis.
I hear you. I just started working for a startup, and have a lot more email to deal with, and web forums to monitor.
I've got to work out a plan to deal with it productively. It's important and necessary, but carries a high potential for inefficiency if not managed well.
