

Ask HN: Internet-free household? - kcovia

I&#x27;ve been kicking around the idea of canceling my Internet connection at home. The primary reason is to have a &quot;disconnected&quot; place where I&#x27;m not distracted by devices. I&#x27;m hoping that I&#x27;ll get more reading and relaxing done.<p>Crazy or stupid?
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ColinCera
I have done this for short stretches, 2-4 weeks at a time, by giving my cable
modem to a friend with strict orders not to give it back until a specified
date.

It made a huge difference in my productivity and my overall well-being when I
didn't have internet access.

When I sat down at the computer, I got right to work, since there was nothing
else to do — no email, HN, reddit, etc. (I'm not a gamer, at all; that might
be a distraction for others.)

When I was burned out working for the day, I turned the computer off and did
other things like reading and relaxing. No aimless web surfing, useless forum
opining, etc.

When something came up that I needed to research or do on the web, I wrote it
down in a Word doc, and once or twice a week I'd go to McDonald's and use
their wifi for an hour or two, knocking out all the specific web tasks on my
list.

At present, I am a programmer and I work remotely on software that runs in the
cloud, so it's very nearly impossible for me to go without internet at home.

That's a bummer, because my past experience tells me my life and my
productivity are both _immensely_ better without it.

I urge you to give it a try. If you don't want to cancel it right away,
consider giving your modem to somebody to keep for a month. (One time I mailed
it to my mom, and then she wouldn't send it back, for my own good, she said —
I had to buy a new one — so... don't trust your mother.)

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kfcm
Not crazy or stupid at all.

With 27 years of Internet access of one form or another under my belt, the
same thought has been entering my mind the past couple of years. The first 11
years weren't bad, with dedicated access only in college computing labs or at
work. Home was dial-up only, so restricted to e-mail, usenet, etc. Lots of
time for reading.

But since broadband (DSL and cable) started becoming widely available in '98,
my home-based non-connected leisure time has diminished. An inverse
relationship with broadband speed, one could say.

Although I don't own a smartphone, their introduction and the cutting of the
Internet wires has only exacerbated the distraction problem. Which is one of
the two reasons I don't have one.

If I didn't run my business from home, I'd probably drop my connection too.
And probably will the day I retire.

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viraptor
Depends if you want to go through the pain of not having easy access to other
services. Most government forms? You need to go to the office. Paying bills?
Get on the phone / go to the bank. Contacting your phone company? I hope you
saved the piece of paper with their phone number. Need a local plumber? Pay
extra for calling number information service / get someone random without
seeing any previous feedback.

Internet makes a lot of things in life so much easier. I'm probably going
offline for a while soon. But that means disabling mobile data unless I really
need it. Internet can still be treated like a utility - just don't use it if
you don't have to.

~~~
kfcm
US-centric:

Paying bills? Crazy little pieces of paper called checks.

Contacting your phone company? Paper bills, or just write it down. Or, wonder
of wonders, dial 611.

Need a plumber? They still have these wonderful books called The Yellow Pages.

How in the world did we ever survive prior to the Internet becoming more
mainstream just 12-14 years ago? Now sit down and let me tell you about the
prehistoric times called the 1970s and 1980s...

And get off my lawn.

~~~
viraptor
Yes, all of those things were possible before. But now they're easier and
having internet access simply saves you hours and real money on the tasks like
you listed. OP asked about it to limit distractions - but I'm guessing he'd be
ok with having distractions if he had more even more free time for the reading
and relaxing.

So the question is what's the goal? Forcing yourself to have less
distractions, because you can't control yourself otherwise? Or having more
free time? Using internet only when you need to saves you a lot of time.

Your response was an exaggeration - of course we survived before. But I'd
rather make my live easier and just power off the devices when not used.

