Light up my room…

Other than being a great song by Barenaked Ladies, let the title of this post serve as an example of how much times have changed.

The other night in the almost pitch black, I noticed two things: 1) that something in our room must not be functioning correctly because a light that is usually solid was blinking and driving me crazy, and 2) that it isn’t pitch black at all because there are a lot of little indicator lights on in our room.

Because it has happened gradually over the years, I barely noticed until the other night. Tonight, I challenge you to take stock of the lights that stay on when your lights go out. And then ask your parents how many lights were in their room when they were your age. For us, there are 14 items with lights on them at night in our room, for my parents: 1. Full list is at the end of the post for us, just an alarm clock for my parents.

Why does this matter and why am I writing about it?

These lights all serve some kind of purpose, to let us know that something is on or connected or charging. Blinking tells us something different than steady light. Amber light tells us something different than red. But in addition to helping us know what is going on in the machines (notifications), these lights serve as distractions.

Take stock of the things that distract you from daily life. Notice how you have become numb to some of these things over time and how they may prevent you from your goals.

I was shocked when I took stock of the little indicator lights in our bedroom and even more shocked when I took stock of the distractions and notifications that are all part of my daily life. Now, onto the real work of figuring what stays and what goes!

Want to know what is lighting up our room? Here’s the list.

• TV – has a small red light that’s on all the time.
• Router – I guess it’s technically called a mesh wi-fi node now
• Modem – four or five lights on this guy
• FOUR Surge protectors/power strips – one near TV, one near desk, one near each nightstand
• Second TV on desk – being used as a monitor – small red light that’s always on
• Baby monitor
• Computer charging cord – LED indicator that’s on while charging (which is every night)
• Smoke detector
• Wireless headphones charging station
• Philips Hue Smart Hub – for making light bulbs smarter I suppose, three lights on this one
• Air purifier with HEPA filter and UV light.

In my parent’s room when they were my age:

• Clock