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After The Hiatus: So What?

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I sat here for the better part of a month, trying to write some sort of quotable, useful, chock-full-of-Instagram-worthy-wisdom post about how enlightened  I am since taking a break from social media in November. (Spoiler: I'm so enlightened. Clearly.) Then, I figured:  I'll make a list!  People are busy. They don't have time, energy, or attention to devote to a New Yorker- style diatribe of dozens of pages with ten-dollar words and hifalutin prose. People dig lists. They read them. They might even comment on them. That's what it's all about, isn't it? (Oh. Wait. See item 7 below.) EIGHT THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK: [Number 1 will surprise you! One simple trick! Other clickbaity language!] 1. I am physically, mentally, and circumstantially incapable of maintaining a blog on a daily basis.  This one goes without saying, so we'll get it out of the way first. To all two of my faithful readers: I hope you were still able to get something out of t...

A Few Good Reads

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 I've been quiet on here this week, but as I'm likely writing for an audience of approximately one ( maybe  two), I'm sure it's all right. Let's dive in with another edition of Whatcha Reading Wednesday ! Nonfiction: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death - Caitlin Doughty I was just as surprised as you are to have picked up this book at my library. One of my dearest friends is a Mortuary Sciences student, and she read this one. I'm about halfway through, and it is a fascinating  read. Doughty chronicles the way that different cultures approach death, funerary practices, and grief. No grisly photos, but the illustrations by Landis Blair are amazing and captivating in that train wreck, you-just-can't-look-away way. Place a hold on it at your library, or click the book cover image to find a copy on Indiebound. Fiction: Straight On Till Morning  - Liz Braswell Disney's Twisted Tales  series is a YA collection of the familiar tales...

Giving Up? Or Gaining More?

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Food for thought today: We're giving things up, yes, but consider this: what do you hope to gain? Your mentality could  look like: "I can't get on social media this month (or else I'll be a cheater and a giver-upper and a failure, etc."), but think about what you can do instead of what you can't . Take out your journal/Word doc/Post-It/back of your Target receipt and jot down a few things that you might have more time to do now that you're re-allocating your feed scrolling time. Maybe you'll rediscover a hobby long since abandoned, or perhaps you'll finally crack into that lengthy to-read list of books. Here are a few things I hope to make headway on this month: Reading more books Working through my writing workbook More dedicated activities with my kids Crocheting a few holiday gifts Starting my calligraphy kit (that has been sitting on my shelf since last Christmas, whoops) Getting caught up on chores Maintaining my workout routine Organizing a ...

This Won't Hurt a Bit.

via GIPHY No one likes ripping off the Band-Aid. But we did it, starting today! How'd it go for your first day of minimizing social media? Go get that journal I talked about earlier, and jot down how you're feeling today. Did you notice the urge to check your feed in the checkout line? Maybe you didn't notice its lack of presence in your life at all. Me? I was somewhere in between. I wasn't foaming at the mouth in a state of withdrawal, but I kept pulling my phone out at random times, only to remember I deleted my apps. This month, I'm giving up Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram. (I also deleted my TikTok app out of an abundance of caution, but this older millennial doesn't seem to have the capacity to do much with it. When do y'all find all this quiet time to watch a slew of videos with the sound on, I ask you?!) I hope you're feeling strong and confident today, because you are . What are you giving up this month?

Get Prepped for the Big Month

Let's face it: social media is such a predominant part of our lives that to take a sabbatical will be a little impactful. [For those of you playing along in real-time, we will begin our social media detox on November 1, 2020.] To ensure we're all ready for our month-long break, here are a few helpful tips to get us set for success: 1. Decide where you're cutting back.  If you haven't already, figure out from which social media platform(s) you're taking a hiatus. Here's a hint: if you check it during the day, consider cutting it. With some platforms, you may have the option to temporarily deactivate your account to keep your "itch" for feed-checking at bay. *DISCLAIMER: If you choose to use any of the below methods for deactivating your account, you do so at your own risk. Take special care to ensure that you can restore your account when you'd like.* How to deactivate Facebook It looks like if you try to deactivate your Twitter account, it may be ...

Hey There!

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  Welcome! Thanks for checking out my little social experiment. Let's start things off with an honest question: Are you a little burned out by social media? For many of us, the answer is a pretty exhausted " Ugh. YES, " accompanied by your head thrown back in absolute fatigue from the constant pressure of it all: posting all the memes , demonstrating just how good you are at homeschooling your perfectly behaved children, sharing that perfect selfie (after approximately 5,729 deleted attempts in your camera roll), or getting wrapped up in a political debate that feels more like banging your head against a brick wall than engaging in meaningful discourse. And the comments section. Heaven helps us, the comments section . The list goes on for a while. Maybe you've sat with the question for a little bit and, like many of us, you're not sure if you're really burned out. Sure, social platforms have their aggravations, but they do hold some value. We can keep up with ...