Breaking Up With The Book

Thursday just gone I spent 7 hours straight on social media.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest… I wasted the whole day. The only reason I got out of my pajamas and had a shower was to avoid judgement from my housemates before they returned home.

I got stuck in a deep dark social media hole. My back hurt from slothing on the couch and my thumbs hurt from scrolling and tapping.

When I finally dragged my ass into the shower I realised that I needed a break from social media. I need to take control of my time and spend it learning and opening my mind.

Here’s how I Broke up with the Book and what I found as a result:

1. Non-committal approach – My first act was to delete the trouble causing apps from my phone. I’m not entirely ready to de-activate all accounts, that feels a little too extreme and a little too permanent for me. I’m still hoping that one day in the future I might have the self control to re-open the apps without losing five days to a dark crack den lifestyle like existence.
2. Told some people about it – I talked about the reasons why, encouraged people to try it too, talk your righteous self up after all, if you can’t do it on social media you’ll now have to find ways to do it face to face (I kid). But do talk, I now have all the time in the world to deepen relationships without distraction.
3. Find something to do with all my spare time – my intention in deleting the apps was to not waste so much time and use my mind to learn instead. I didn’t bargain for the amount of free time I would have! I’ve been reading, crocheting, planning my next trip, writing, listening to informative podcasts, meditating, journal writing, cleaning even! All those small moments that I would usually spend just having a quick update on the Book add up!
4. Mental clarity – as a result of activities mentioned in #3. I’ve wanted to do all these things and always felt I didn’t have enough time. And that turned into a feeling of failure, I’m not doing enough, I’m not learning enough, my brain is turning to mush. But now, I’m experiencing this feeling of accomplishment for easily ticking off my to-do list. Everything is in order and I’m taking in new and important information.
5. Decreased anxiety – now, it’s still early days but the little fist squeezing on my heart has definitely loosened it’s grip and I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that it’s a result of the positive steps I’ve taken for Myself.

Now it’s your turn! Do it for yourself. Take back your time, your life and your mind!

Let me know if you’ve taken a social media break before and what you experienced or if you’re planning on breaking up with the book.

K  x