The other day I was sat looking at all the wires dotted around my home office that keep me switched on and clued up. Alongside my love of “analogue stationery” there is a multitude of electronic or battery-powered gadgets that seem to be always needed including, randomly, a walkie talkie set, even though they weren't part of our every day lives a few years back. It's definitely a sign of the times that almost everything I use needs plugging in and most of it needs charging up (me too on the odd occasion). I regularly drain my laptop battery when working in my office because I forget to take the power lead upstairs. I then have to sit at the uncomfortable end of the settee because the wire doesn't stretch any further. Yes, I do realise that buying a second power lead would solve all these problem but I never do things the easy way.
Generally I am quite attached to my mobile phone. It is my alarm clock, my calender alert (yes, as well as my Filofax), it is my substitute watch, a notepad, a camera, a quick link to my email, it houses games for moments of boredom, provides me with newsflashes, it is an mp3 player, a radio, a vital source of information, a sat nav and a Kindle. Occasionally, just occasionally, I send and receive texts and sometimes use it for phone calls. The battery life is none too clever so I am always hooking it up to my portable power bank so that I'm never without!
For all my love of technology I do wonder if I'm a bit too "wired"? I would love to ditch the mobile phone and laptop for a week or so - in fact, when we go on holiday I really do disconnect myself for a full two weeks (OK, I logged on four times using the hotel WiFi but I was taking a break from the sun...). I read about eight books, countless magazines and wrote lists of ideas. It was really good to step back from it all but the temptation is a bit too strong at home. I love my twitter-and-television time too much!
What about you? Are you plugged in or switched off at home?