Sometimes it’s the big things that help us appreciate the little things. How often do we stop to acknowledge the things that we often take for granted like phone service, heat, gas, or hot water? We just expect things to work, to be there when we need them, and to go on with life as we know it.

Many of us, including me have experienced some crazy things in the past few days due to superstorm Sandy, not just loss of services, but also fear, panic, and disorientation. In our town and many others, there are still people without electricity or phone service. You may be one of them. Gas and food are becoming scarce. I'm grateful that our electricity, heat, phone and Internet have all been restored as of today. They came back in varying intervals. I’m starting to see some very positive reports. I hope that all of your services are back soon too.

In the midst of this “storm,” I reminded myself of many things that I was thankful for. It helped me to keep a grateful perspective even in the face of uncertainty, fear, and potential danger. In the last few days, these were some of the things that kept me going. I was grateful for…

The safety of our family and friends

Our house being spared from falling trees

The stillness caused by the blackout

Reading more than usual

The extra time with family

Laughter

Imposed digital break

Cozy blankets

The lights and heat returning after 24 hours of darkness and cold

All the days when we had electricity and warmth

A hot shower

A hot cup of coffee

A hot cup of soup

Flexible, understanding clients

Other people’s resourcefulness

My own resourcefulness

Other people’s strength

My own strength

The brightly colored fall leaves

Living close enough to my Mom to bring her to our house for safety

Finding one working cell phone area in our town

Friends and family that checked in on us

Friends and family we checked in on

Having food to eat

A fuller house than usual

Making “French” chocolate in honor of my aunt’s visit

Phone service returning after four days of being out

All the days we had perfectly good phone service

Answering a ringing phone

Picking up the phone to make a phone call

Internet and email restored after five days of being disconnected

Many days we had of fully operational Internet and email

The messages of hope and good wishes on Twitter, Facebook, and email

Acknowledging that I can’t control everything

Letting go

It’s going to take me time to get back to normal. There are hundreds of emails, tweets, and other messages to respond to. There are calls to return and projects to complete. I’m still catching my breath. I am so grateful to be sitting here today with my hot cup of jasmine green tea, writing, and sharing this post with you. While the storm put me a bit off schedule, we’re here now. Together.

I’ve missed you. I’d love to hear how you’re doing. What’s on your mind? Please take a moment or two to share. At this moment, what are you grateful for?

On the Tiny Buddha website, Lori Deschene writes, “In our fast-paced, always on world, it’s not difficult to access information. It comes at you at breakneck speed. Articles, blog posts, status updates, tweets- there’s never a shortage of ideas to consider.” Having 24/7 access can make us feel overwhelmed, challenged to prioritize what’s most important, and un-motivated to move ahead.

By identifying some of the sources and challenges of our digital overwhelm, and by learning how to better manage them, we can increase our sense of well-being, focus, and motivation. Some of the overwhelm sources include our digital devices like our smartphones, laptops, and desktops. There’s the Internet, social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube. There’s email, texting, and voicemail. There’s no shortage of digital accessibility vying for our time and attention.

This digital overwhelm comes with challenges. Here are a few:

• Interruptions – We can be productively working and then are interrupted by our phone vibrating, the email alert dinging, or a new text message buzzing. We find it difficult to ignore those interruptions. We check, we respond, we lose our focus, and it takes time to get back to what we were doing.

• Difficulty Prioritizing & Focusing – In the article “Is Modern Technology Creating a Culture of Distraction?” Mathew Ingram asks the question, “Are modern devices and digital conveniences making us more distracted and less able to concentrate?” The constant bombardment of the digital world vying for our attention, along with it’s easy accessibility makes it increasingly difficult for us to prioritize and focus on what’s most important.

• Endless – Judith Kolberg, organizer, author and industry-futurist, talks about the concept of “endless.” She says that there’s an endless quantity of information, endless availability, and endless accessibility. This is juxtaposed to a finite amount of time. Choice becomes essential. Parameters need to be placed around endless so that we can prioritize and make better decisions.

• Addiction & Reward – In a Huffington post article, researchers from a University of Chicago study found that “tweeting or checking email may be harder to resist than alcohol,” and that “social media was ‘more addictive’ than cigarettes.” According to a post by Buttoned Up, we are rewarded with feelings of “belonging and significance” when we respond to our digital devices. Responding makes us feel good and this adds to the addictiveness.

Do any of these challenges feel familiar? If you are struggling with the constant pull towards connectivity and are interested in testing out some possible solutions for reducing your overwhelm and re-focusing your time, here are some ideas to consider:

• Establish Boundaries – Be clear and selective about what you will and won’t do. Align your "yeses" with your values and priorities. Get your “no” statements prepared. For example, you might say-  “No, I’m not going to text while I’m having dinner with my family.”  “No, I’m not going to engage in social media until I finish my report.”  “No, I’m not going to check my email every 5 minutes.” “No, I’m not going to . . ."

• “Ding Management” – Reduce the dings, alerts and pop-ups that we’re conditioned to respond to. These are very hard to resist. When you need to focus, turn off the alerts. I’ve opted to turn them off permanently. There are also apps and programs like Freedom, Concentrate, and Self-Control that enable you to lock yourself out of “rewarding” programs like email and social media sites on a controlled or temporary basis.

• Digital Blackouts – More and more I’m hearing about people taking personal digital blackouts during certain hours, days, or weekends. It gives them a mental break to unplug and focus 100% of their energy on their friends, family, or activities. If the thought of doing this scares you, test it out for a short duration and build from there. In the New York Times article, “The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In,” one mom blogger who decided to establish a personal daily email and Internet ban between 4-8pm said, “If I’m at all connected, it’s too tempting. I need to make a distinct choice.” Her kids were thrilled.

• Slow Down – Don’t buy into the 24/7 busyness and access. Decide to slow down and enjoy real face-to-face people interaction, outdoor activities or, leisurely meals with your family or friends. Take time to renew, recharge, and shift your pace. One of my favorite posts, "The Elegance of Slow" by DeeAnne White is a wonderful reflection about the benefits of indulging in non-tech, leisurely time.

There are so many more sources, challenges and possible solutions. What’s missing from these lists? I’d love to hear about your challenges and successes. If you're curious, ask me about my "ding management" experiment. Come join the conversation.