So.
Back at the beginning of the month.
Specifically the first weekend.
Where we had General Conference.
President Nelson asked us to go on a 10 day fast from social media.
Which....
Was a lot to ask really. ^^;;
Lol mostly because I'm online like....all the time on various different outlets.
Facebook. Twitter. Blogger. Tumblr. I'd even just started an Instagram because...well why not? I like taking pictures and it seemed like a good platform to post pictures...
But in any case.
10 days away from social media??
:S :S :S
I mean, the only time I'm away from my computer is like...when I've gone on vacation where there's been no internet access.
So like...on cruises and such.
I'm constantly online.
Constantly writing.
Constantly posting.
Constantly doing...well a lot.
Because I like making people smile. I like talking (writing?) about the antics and frustrations and amusing things I encounter on a day to day life.
And I'd already kinda been....idk. Working to keep things more positive.
So I did have to wonder...
Was this a challenge I needed?
Did I need to take a 10 day fast?
And like...one of my main struggles....
Was that I'd already had online goals for the month of October that I needed to complete.
Namely that I had the goal to take pictures of the sunset every evening of the month and post them online.
And I don't like giving up on goals when I have no cause to.
Which meant...
That I couldn't really do the 10 day social media fast in October when I needed the social media platforms to be able to accomplish my goals.
But.
I did decide to...kinda take a step back and set some boundaries on 'when' I could be online.
Which made me realize that I was checking my phone and being online a lot more than I was meaning to be.
….mostly at work.
Like I hadn't realized how much I'd been ducking into the back to look online to see if anyone commented on a post, or liked a photo, or you know...interacted with me.
I was constantly looking for validation online....
And that was probably cutting into my productivity at work.
I mean it's only thirty seconds or so. Where I'd glance at my phone while waiting for the sink to fill up with water, or things like that. Things where I couldn't just walk away and do something else.
So I could take the moment to look at my phone then.
But at the same time.
Right after conference I took a moment to just...not look at my phone. To keep it in my pocket.
To focus on work and such.
Which is how I became so aware of how much attention I was giving that small device.
I also tried other things...like waiting to get online until later in the day.
Not coming home and getting straight on the computer.
But you know....taking time to do other things.
...Like nap. ^^;; haha.
And yah. Okay, get on the computer. But I was using the device for writing instead of simply spending hours scrolling through social media.
In any case.
This past month has made me more....aware.
Of what I'm doing online.
But also...what frustrations I'm experiencing with online stuff.
What gets me in a down mood.
What perks me up.
What wastes my time.
And where I could...reevaluate and such.
I mean I've spent basically the whole month dithering over which social media I would cut out for the fast period. Do I need to cut out ALL media all together? Or just some? one? ALL? Limit them? :S :S :S
Because I wasn't ignoring the Prophet's advice to do a 10 day fast.
I just needed to finish my October goal of posting a sunset a day first.
So this entire time.
I've been waffling.
Deciding.
Figuring out which sites I would fast from...and how I would fast from them....
Which has led me to the decision to fast from Blogging for 10 days.
As I've noticed...that this actually takes up a lot of my time.
You wouldn't think it would.
But because I run four different blogs...and three of them are updated on a daily basis....
It actually eats a lot into my time.
With the different perimeters and such I've set for each blog...some things are more time consuming than others...but I've realized that I can take two or three hours (if not more) to write in all four blogs.
And like...that's a lot of time.
Two hours is a lot of time.
Especially when a blog post shouldn't take more than like...maybe 10 minutes to write if I'm venting?
So I've decided to take a step back.
To not blog for 10 days.
And just...take the time to reevaluate. To decide moving forward how to take each blog.
Like this one? Still going to be my everyday blog. I still plan to post in it, once I get back, on a daily basis lol.
But the other three?
Do I need to post in them everyday as well?
Or can I just...cut back. Post on specific days?
I don't know.
Not yet.
First I'm going to just....step away from it all and see if getting that two blogging hours back can help lessen the stress in other areas in my life.
Like...just story writing and such.
Of course. I'm taking a break from other social media as well. So it's not just Blogger.
But yah.
It's kinda nerve-wracking actually.
To not look online.
To be 'out of the loop.'
*exhales*
This is going to be interesting.
But I have been looking forward to it too.
It's a chance to try something different.
Figure myself out.
Realign my priorities.
And decide what is really important to me when it comes to my online presence and how I present myself. :D
So yah.
This blog is going to be on a brief hiatus. ^^;; I'll be back to posting on November 11th! :D
Cya guys then!!
Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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