Social media can be a major distraction. I like to take a break from social media and the Internet in general from time to time. Recently, I took a week off Facebook. Here’s what I discovered.
I recently took a break from Facebook. It was a great week. In this post, I’ll briefly discuss the pros and cons of my break from Facebook. Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way first.
The Cons Of My Break From Facebook
There weren’t many. But if I had to make a list, here it is:
- Not engaging with my Hip Diggs audience: If I didn’t operate a growing blog, I’d be very tempted to delete my Facebook account. Still, I believe in spreading the message of simple living. I gain about 25% of my blog’s traffic from Facebook.
- Not opening my Facebook messages: Although I didn’t interact on Facebook, I teach a blogging class. I occasionally needed to access the site. I could see that I’d received a few messages, but I didn’t open them. If any of those messages were time sensitive or business related, it could be problematic.
- Missing family and good friend’s posts: I do enjoy seeing posts from friends and family. I missed those posts.
The Pros Of My Break From Facebook
- Freed up hours of time: If I honestly calculated my time on Facebook, it’s probably about 10+ hours a week. You can get a lot done in 10+ hours.
- Avoided the political circus: Although I enjoy political debate, it can become both a waste of time and an emotional drain. My stress level decreased over the last week.
- Finished writing a new ebook: I started writing the ebook, Finding Our Way Back Home: Reclaiming A Sense Of Peace In A Chaotic World, last summer. I was able to complete the writing, editing, and publishing. I’ll be posting more about the new book soon.
- Updated the Hip Diggs app: I worked with Lee Black to update the Hip Diggs app. Now it’s 10 times easier to manage.
- Composed new music: I wrote 4 new musical tracks on the iPod. I also practiced my guitar about twice as much.
- Read a book: I read most of the book, The Financial Lives Of The Poets, for a reading group I recently joined.
- Spent more time with Annie: My daughter and I have played Scrabble about 5 times over the past week. We also took a couple of walks together and practiced karate.
- Got more exercise: I made it to the gym twice as often in the past week than I have in several previous weeks.
Sometimes A Break From Facebook Is Good
Too much of anything can be bad. This is true for social media, too. This short break from Facebook gave me some time to be more productive and more creative. I was also able to relax and spend more time doing healthy endeavors.
I encourage you to consider taking an occasional break from Facebook. You’ll discover a lot of positive results. It might also boost your creativity a little bit.
