playbook
Canal boating without a phone
A whisper boat for two hours on a nearby canal. No Spotify, no route. Sometimes a heron on the bank.
2u
duration
€ 25–60
budget
Ground
pace
A whisper boat has an electric motor you can barely hear. On a canal, an hour or two, no music, no people on the bank, it is a strange experience. You notice that you constantly want to reach for something. Your phone, a podcast, a drink, a conversation with the person next to you.
Only after about twenty minutes does the body start to understand that nothing more is coming. That is when the listening begins. Water against the bow, a tractor in the distance, a bird you cannot name. Half an hour later you are thinking about things you have not thought about in a week. No meditation app has that kind of power. A whisper boat does.
Checklist
0 of 4
Fluisterboot gereserveerd
Twee uur is genoeg
Telefoon in vliegmodus
Niet alleen op stil
Eén snack en water mee
Geen lunch
Geen audio meegenomen
Geen oortjes
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by PlayTryBe team
Book a whisper boat at a rental company nearby. Two hours is plenty. Booking a week ahead is usually not necessary.
40Put your phone on airplane mode before you get on board. Not "silent", actually airplane mode. Tuck it into a bag at the bottom of the boat.
Suggestion: The urge to pick it up is information, not a problem.First ten minutes: slowly motor away from the rental company. No music, no podcast. Notice the urge to switch something on.
Between twenty and thirty minutes in: something often happens. Your thoughts slow down, or become more active. Do not hold on to them, do not push them away. Just watch what comes.
There are stretches of canal where there are no houses, no roads, just a field with cows or reeds. In a moment like that you realise you are in the Netherlands, close to home, and it still feels like a holiday.
Halfway through: pull up to the bank, switch off the motor, eat your snack. No typing, no scrolling. Just eat and sit.
What you did not do during these two hours will feel more important afterwards than what you did do. That is the paradox of rest.
Return the boat on time. No need to check what time it is, the rental company will already be keeping track of that for you.
For anyone copying this
Do as we did
Suggestions
- Do it on a weekday afternoon, not at the weekend. The canal is quieter then.
- Phone on airplane mode, in a bag at the bottom of the boat. Out of reach is not out of mind.
- An apple or a sandwich helps you accept the slow pace.
- No more than two hours. Any longer and it becomes boredom instead of rest.
Variations
- - Met partner: spreek af dat de eerste 30 minuten geen gesprek is.
- - Met kano of SUP: actiever, maar zelfde principe. Geen muziek.
- - In de avond: laatste licht, andere geluiden, andere vogels.
- - Schrijven in plaats van denken: een klein boekje en pen mee.