Two weeks ago I was prowling in impatience and irritation, growling at the delay in my schedule that was the result of an internet outage. (This was soon followed by my phone dying. You can read all about my tech annoyances here.)
About the same time I was going through this, I was toying with taking a bit of a break from Facebook. The hate rhetoric was just getting to be more than felt psychologically healthy to me. So, on that Monday after getting my internet back, I checked Facebook, logged out, and closed that tab. When I received my new phone on Tuesday, I was intentional about not installing the Facebook app, settling with just installing Messenger and Pages (both I can use without seeing my newsfeed).
Last Sunday, I went on Facebook briefly to clear out notifications and to respond to comments. There were almost 40 notifications, and very few of those were really germane to my life. Then, I logged off, once more closing down the tab. In the tech post, a colleague commented, asking how it was being off of Facebook. Frankly, it’s pretty great. I’m less distracted and able to tackle those things that truly need my attention.
I thought i’d only be off Facebook for a week, but I discovered instead that I can keep going with this as long as I need to. Through 3rd party apps, such as Hootsuite, Instagram, my blog, and my newsletter, I can post just enough that people know I’m still alive. This week, though, I hit a flaw in my plan. Without Facebook, I was without my groups, and one of those is really important to me in my business. Furthermore, I needed the wisdom of this group, and there was only one way to get it. Yep, back to Facebook – and right in the middle of the week, too. However, I don’t have to stay logged into Facebook; I can post my question, log out, close the tab, and check for responses at the end of the day as I’m drafting my agenda for the next day. This allows me to avoid the things that upset me and keeps me from being distracted from my tasks.
It takes hard-won business maturity and discipline to get off the social networks for anything but their necessary use, and it’s difficult to break the habit of checking social media feeds when you’re of the habit of checking them multiple times a day. Yet, I’m trying hard to do it, and things are definitely getting done around here.
What can you subtract from your life that would enable you to increase your productivity and take your goals and dreams to their next level?
