It’s the New Year. Anyone else feel refreshed? I know I do. It’s because I took a social media break over the holidays.
Most of us in this world check our social media every single day. It’s addicting! We find ourselves grabbing our phone every time we hear the “ding” or see the badge icon telling us there is a new notification. Right now, you’re probably thinking it isn’t possible to take a break from social media because it’s EVERYWHERE! And you’re right, it is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you have to access it. More many, it’s a foreign concept. But it doesn’t have to be.
Around the holidays most of us have time where we are super busy with events, family stuff, shopping for presents and cooking. That busy lifestyle that takes over us during the holidays makes us really tired at the end of the day. Planing on “unplugging” for a bit each day during this time can be beneficial. You may think I’m totally nuts by even suggesting this. With the emails, the tex messages from clients and business partners and social media notifications it can see hard to disassociate ourself from the phone. But it is possible and it will feel so darn good!
How did you take a break from social media?
First, schedule the time you’ll be disconnecting. Set the days and the hours. It may be best to start on a weekend because you’ll be busy with shopping and running around getting ready for Christmas. When you first get up, checked emails for the important stuff and then shut off the sound on the phone. Throughout the day you won’t hear the new notifications and it will make it easier.
When you get home, immediately plug your phone on the charger and leave it there. Walked out of the room without your phone and get busy with other things. Stay busy! Keeping yourself occupied helps you to not think about the notifications.
At the end of day, go to bed without even picking up your phone. You will have the BEST night’s sleep and your mind won’t be running like a ticker tape. You won’t be worried about the notifications, the things to do, the events to remember, etc. When you wake up the next day, you probably won’t reach for your phone right away.
This experiment will help you realize just how attached we are to electronics and what’s going on on with the world. Part of me thinks we are so attached because we all just want to connect with each other in some way. Another part of me thinks it’s just because the world has evolved. Either way, I encourage you to unplug. Report back and share you experience in the comments!