Welcome to the seventeenth day of the 30 days writing challenge of this year. You can find a list of all the articles I wrote at the end of each article. Please have a look at the end of it to understand how can you participate in this one.
To Be Or Not To Be Always Connected?
I clearly remember the times when I was thinking that an iPhone will solve all my communications problems, because, well, it will allow me to have internet everywhere. Every time. Always. That was 10 years ago, and although I did buy one of the first iPhones - and kept myself in the fanboy group for the last decade - I don't fancy the idea of continuous connection anymore.
It's not only the physical side of it - like the radiation and stuff - but mostly the cognitive burden that comes with it. And the stress added by the fact that I should be always on guard. Please note there is a difference between being always ready for anything, and always on guard. The latter is way too stressful for someone who doesn't live in a very violent context (like a natural disaster or a war).
So, it dawned upon me during the last few years that keeping ourselves connected digitally needs quite a few adjustments.
What follows is a very short list of best practices for that.
1 Stay Away From Unlimited Plans
Unlimited data plans are a trap. I'm talking mostly about mobile data plans, as any fixed connection now has unlimited download / upload. But for mobile, I realized that if I'm connected "everywhere, anytime", I tend to get swept in this digital whirlwind pretty much everywhere, anytime. Which leaves the other part of my life, the real one, on a very restricted territory. So, lately I'm on metered plans, a few gigabytes of data being more than enough for my needs.
2 Go For Quality, Not Quantity
When I choose an internet provider, I usually go for quality, and not necessarily for the quantity of the stuff that I get. And by quality I mean a mix of coverage, infrastructure quality, customer support quality and contract type (I simply exclude any contract that has a commitment longer than a year). I found out that even fixed lines can be contracted now with a commitment no longer than 3 months.
3 Set Up The Lowest Threshold And Never Go Below
As a programmer, I depend on the internet for survival. So there are things that I really need, like a good upload speed. So I try to make sure that my provider (both mobile and fix) can accommodate this lower limit. If necessary, I can go with a slightly more expensive provider, if I'm sure that we're not going below my emergency lower threshold.
4 Set Up The Higher Threshold And Never Go Above
The same goes for the higher threshold, but this one is easier. At the upper hand, the offers today tend to be just very similar. I don't really need all the bells and whistles of the latest fiber infrastructure, but I want to watch Netflix comfortably. That's basically my upper limit.
So, this was my (very short) list of best practices for keeping yourself digitally connected in a healthy way.
How Do I Participate In This Challenge?
The criteria for 
- post must be at least 300 words long
- post must be original
- post must be on best practices
- post must use the #challenge30days tag
Previous Posts In The Challenge
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Keeping A Successful 30 Days Challenge
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Selecting Relevant Crypto Projects (Day Two)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Surviving In The STEEM Universe (Day Three)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Working Remote (Day Four)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Working From Coffee Shops (Day Five)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Learning A New Language (Day Six)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Choosing A Crypto Exchange (Day Seven)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Running (Day Eight)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Getting A Good, Relaxing Sleep (Day Nine)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Incorporating Yoga Into Your Daily Routine (Day Ten)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Choosing (And Working From) A CoWorking Space (Day Eleven)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Integrating Meditation Into Your Life (Day Twelve)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For A Healthy Relationship With Your Mobile Phone (Day Thirteen)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Learning And Using A Programming Language (Day Fourteen)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Networking (Day Fifteen)
- January 2019 Challenge 30 Days - Best Practices For Choosing And Implementing A Productivity Framework (Day Sixteen)
Steem on!
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me 
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