Day 1: Besides an occasional finger twitch to check my phone's notifications, not too bad...except Once Upon A Time is back from its' hiatus and I CAN'T CHECK TUMBLR TO SEE ALL THE NEW FAN THEORIES, FANART AND FANFICS... but really I'm doing fine.
Day 3: Went to Facebook stalk someone, and realized that I couldn't... Just shed an imaginary tear.(insert sad emoticon face here).
Day 5: Finished binge watching the web series The Lizzie Bennett Diaries (for the second time) and The Autobiography of Jane Eyre.
Day 7: Went to show a friend a Pin, but had to slowly BACK AWAY FROM THE PHONE.
Day 8: Finished all 87 episodes of Emma Approved. Now what?
Day 9: Because I'm no longer being sucked into the social media black hole, I'm sorting through my enormous backlog of Taste of Home and Simple and Delicious magazine...how in the name of Serenity have I collected so many?!
Day 11: I think today's the first day I haven't been aching to check Pinterest. Not that I'm not longing to pin all the vintage Easter cards and spring desserts pins I can find, 'tis the season after all, but I'm okay not doing it.
Day 12: Received this email notification from Facebook...
(Facebook, I think you might have more of a problem with me than I do with you...)
Day 15: Halfway done!! It's kind of crazy, but the urge to to do my habitual evening interwebs browsing is almost...gone. Whoa.
(Baby Tom, you are adorable.)
Day 18: I have several friends who have birthdays this month and not being able to wish them "Happy Birthday" on Facebook feels kind of strange. I'm going to have to do something drastic like text, call or even...send them a card (!!) to wish them "Happy Birthday". What?!
Day 20: I broke my vow. I sneaky sneaked my way onto Facebook. It was only to wish my Canadian friend "Happy Birthday". I don't have international texting, and that was the only way I could be sure she would get my birthday love. I didn't check a single notification even though I was sorely tempted. Seriously. I did not. That red notification flag was taunting me, but I said "NO."
Day 23: So far I wouldn't say I'm more productive since I cut out the Big Three, but I would say my evenings feel a little more relaxed, strangely enough.
Day 27: Finished one blog post, and began the finishing touches on two others. Also 3/4 of the way through my Hobbit cross stitch project. Okay, so the creative juices are starting to flow now that I'm almost done with my challenge? Way to go, Creative Juices. Way. To. Go.
Day 28: Today is mah birthday, and I'm struggling with feelings of guilt for not saying thank you to the people writing Happy Birthday wishes on my Facebook wall.
Day 30: Today I had the pleasure of being at the hospital with two friends as they welcomed their precious baby girl into the world. Feelings of missing social media were far, far, away. Any app or website pales in comparison to this moment. This is what life is about.
Day 31: LAST DAY!!! I'll be honest the temptation of "Oh, I'm basically done with this challenge. Go ahead and check Pinterest. It's totally fine. In fact, I deserve it!"is strong today. I will resist.
Aaaaand I did. Boo-yah!! Thirty one days without The Big Three, and I survived!!
So what did I learn from this little experiment?
1. No having a reason to constantly check my device for notifications is freeing.
2. Not being in front of a flickering screen all evening long is lovely.
3. I'm resolved to cut my evening web browsing to 1-2 hours maximum.
4. Am I free from the allure of Pinterest? Did you miss my Day 31 entry? No. I still love it, and can't wait to look up new Easter brunch recipes.
5. Will I take another social media sabbatical in the near future? As the Minnesotan blood in me says "Yeah sure, you betcha!".
6. Realizing how much time I spend online was mortifying, but the knowledge that I could break free from it for a whole stinkin' month was empowering.
7. Am I a better conversationalist? I think so, but if I'm talking with you and you see me to start reach for my phone to do more than check the time, I give you the freedom to slap the phone out of my hands.
As much as I've whined and complained, overall this has been an awesome learning experience for me, and I challenge you, my lovely readers, to do same. It doesn't have to My Big Three. We all have our own Big Three that consume us. It could be Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, a certain show, a particular sport you follow, TV in general, gaming, or even texting.
Trust me. It will be hard, but it will be worthwhile. If I can do it, I know you can. I have faith in you. Now go forth and do the thing!
Oh, and please feel free to tell me if you do decide to do the thing because I would love to be able to encourage you in your thing doing process.
Day 20: I broke my vow. I sneaky sneaked my way onto Facebook. It was only to wish my Canadian friend "Happy Birthday". I don't have international texting, and that was the only way I could be sure she would get my birthday love. I didn't check a single notification even though I was sorely tempted. Seriously. I did not. That red notification flag was taunting me, but I said "NO."
Day 23: So far I wouldn't say I'm more productive since I cut out the Big Three, but I would say my evenings feel a little more relaxed, strangely enough.
Day 27: Finished one blog post, and began the finishing touches on two others. Also 3/4 of the way through my Hobbit cross stitch project. Okay, so the creative juices are starting to flow now that I'm almost done with my challenge? Way to go, Creative Juices. Way. To. Go.
Day 28: Today is mah birthday, and I'm struggling with feelings of guilt for not saying thank you to the people writing Happy Birthday wishes on my Facebook wall.
Day 30: Today I had the pleasure of being at the hospital with two friends as they welcomed their precious baby girl into the world. Feelings of missing social media were far, far, away. Any app or website pales in comparison to this moment. This is what life is about.
Day 31: LAST DAY!!! I'll be honest the temptation of "Oh, I'm basically done with this challenge. Go ahead and check Pinterest. It's totally fine. In fact, I deserve it!"is strong today. I will resist.
Aaaaand I did. Boo-yah!! Thirty one days without The Big Three, and I survived!!
So what did I learn from this little experiment?
1. No having a reason to constantly check my device for notifications is freeing.
2. Not being in front of a flickering screen all evening long is lovely.
3. I'm resolved to cut my evening web browsing to 1-2 hours maximum.
4. Am I free from the allure of Pinterest? Did you miss my Day 31 entry? No. I still love it, and can't wait to look up new Easter brunch recipes.
5. Will I take another social media sabbatical in the near future? As the Minnesotan blood in me says "Yeah sure, you betcha!".
6. Realizing how much time I spend online was mortifying, but the knowledge that I could break free from it for a whole stinkin' month was empowering.
7. Am I a better conversationalist? I think so, but if I'm talking with you and you see me to start reach for my phone to do more than check the time, I give you the freedom to slap the phone out of my hands.
As much as I've whined and complained, overall this has been an awesome learning experience for me, and I challenge you, my lovely readers, to do same. It doesn't have to My Big Three. We all have our own Big Three that consume us. It could be Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, a certain show, a particular sport you follow, TV in general, gaming, or even texting.
Trust me. It will be hard, but it will be worthwhile. If I can do it, I know you can. I have faith in you. Now go forth and do the thing!
Oh, and please feel free to tell me if you do decide to do the thing because I would love to be able to encourage you in your thing doing process.
(Doctor, I can always count on you to do the thing...)
