The Art of Noticing Detail
“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”
–William Morris
Detail-oriented: how many of us have written that down on our resumes?
Guilty!
There are so many buzzwords that we all use to describe ourselves to make us standout as top candidates in whatever role we apply for: great communicator! exceptional problem-solver! excellent time management!
And my favorite: extremely detail oriented!
But… are we really?
Simply because we might be able to determine that there is a misplaced comma, an extra zero, or an unnecessary double-line spacing on an email doesn’t truly make us detail-oriented. Maybe in the workspace, but not in the greater scheme of life.
How do we actually become detail-oriented in the way it actually and truly matters?
As of today, April 22, 2025, I think we are all going through it in one way or another. It’s a rough time, as we have all heard over and over and over as of late. We are overwhelmed, worried, and exhausted by everything. Justifiably so.
But here’s the thing: we really don’t make it much easier on ourselves in any way.
We seem to be addicted to the chaos and crap that is ruining our brains and destroying our attention span. When we see it on the TV, we turn it off—just to turn it on on our phones.
Everything sucks. Everything seems bad.
It feels inescapable.
At least I thought that way until I got off social media five months ago.
One of my dear friends, Maggie (who also has recently got off social media), and I were discussing the benefits and the difficulties of being off of social media earlier in the week.
We were being vulnerable by going into detail about our own insecurities and frustrations with ourselves and the world with society’s excruciating social media addiction. We were going even further in depth about how we feel we’ve grown from the process of detaching.
What we’ve gained. What we feel we’ve missed out on by being completely melded to social media since middle school. What we do in our day-to-day lives now. What we’ve noticed and what we didn't notice before.
It was wonderful. It was healing. And boy was it reassuring.
Later in the week, she sent me this lovely poem that really had me thinking about details. Not details in relation to work—but something far, far, far more important—the details in life.
When I read this poem, I digested every word.
I could see it. I could feel it. I could smell it. I could hear it.
It was both beautiful and tragic, as so many of us feel that we wished we could go back to a simpler time when smartphones or social media didn’t exist so we could be more present in real life.
But we can. You can.
You can cut the umbilical cord that you have relied on for years now. You won’t die. You’ll live.
It has never been easier to fill our brains with total garbage and disturbing things every single second of the day. When you let go of the notion that you have to have social media or be chronically online to be a part of the 21st century, you will get your life back. You will actually notice the small things.
You’ll realize that there’re actually are enough hours in the day.
You’ll start to notice things again.
You’ll notice the way the light ricochet’s off that building onto the other. You’ll notice how your mom looks at your dad after he says something funny. You’ll notice that you need to dust your baseboards. You’ll notice how your partner brushes their teeth with a different hand than they use their fork. You’ll notice how there are cherry blossoms on your street, but tulips on the neighboring street. You’ll notice that one elderly couple is always walking with their coffee as you’re on your morning commute. You’ll notice how peaceful the morning can actually be.
You’ll notice the smallest of details, just to realize they were never small in the first place—they are the details that make up your life.
I encourage and challenge you to actually be more detail-oriented. Try not to scroll on your phone during those idle moments of life. Don’t look at your phone while you go on a walk. Go sit in the park and don’t listen to music, life to the world around you.
Everything doesn’t suck. Everything isn’t bad.
Dare I say, stop and smell those daggon’ roses. Or tulips. Or hydrangeas.
There is so much beauty, authenticity, and life out there to be lived. Take your chance. You only have one.
What will you do this week to cancel out the noise so you can pause and enjoy the details?
Sitting on my front porch reading this and feeling so honored!!! ❤️ I love and cherish our friendship and I can’t believe we have been friends for a decade now!
I echo every single thing you say here. Loving every moment of the unconnectedness yet continually striving to get over my fear of missing out!
You're speaking to my SOUL on this one, Jade! I've long pushed against technology and the way everyone's lives need more and more of it. I've been off social media since the summer and it was the best thing I could have ever done. Would love to hear more about your conversation with your friend - what's the best thing about being off of it and the hardest thing? Thanks for articulating this all so well.