It began with a striking realization that I was spending way too much time on Facebook. We have this love hate relationship, Facebook and I.
I love the connection it brings me.
I love checking in with friends and fans and colleagues.
I do not love falling
into
the
rabbit hole.
When that happens, the rhythm of my day is completely disrupted.
An internet cleanse sounded like a gift I could give myself. A gift of long, luxurious blocks of time for my writing. And for my creative pursuits.
I decided that this “cleanse” would be gentle. I would approach it in the same way I approach food with my clients. We lean into change. We work on our habits. We ask ourselves, “Is this a change we can embrace for a lifetime?” We never, ever, “detox to retox.”
I decided I needed an accountability partner so I used my writing group to keep me honest. (Ironically that group lives on Facebook.) I checked in with Leo Babauta, author of The Power of Less and king of
for motivation.
And I began.
Today is Day 20. Here is what I’ve learned so far.
Rules Don’t Work. Gentle Guidelines Do. I gave myself about thirty minutes each morning and then again late afternoon or evening to check in with my community, schedule some posts on my business page, and “tend” my groups. I found that I was much more selective with where I was spending my time and that gave me the gift of…
DISCERNMENT. I discovered where I really wanted/needed to be. I discovered that I can’t be everywhere for everyone.
Perfection Never Serves. There were days I popped into Facebook in the midst of my “internet cleanse.” Out of habit. I chuckled at that. I heard myself saying things like, “Get curious but don’t beat yourself up here. You ENJOY this distraction. Sometimes it actually motivates you to complete a task because you can pop back into your accountability group and say, “I did it!” I wrote that story or I finished that guest post.” How great is that? Are you seeing a pattern yet? Yes, this internet cleanse reflected back to me all that I have come to know about nourishment. There’s more.
Facebook Feeds Me. Yes, the life of a solopreneur can get a little lonely sometimes. Especially during the summer months when I purposefully schedule fewer clients so that I can attend to content creation and writing. Having a community at my fingertips (literally) to check in with is a good thing. Like an occasional plate of pasta that nourishes me at a much deeper level than zucchini strings. In the future I plan to view my Facebook interaction as a “treat,” much like the occasional plate of pasta.
You Can’t Grow an Online Business Offline. Oh yes, this was the tricky part. My world has gotten so much bigger with Facebook as my portal. I have deliberately chosen to grow my business online because I want it to be portable. I want to be able to take it with me when I travel. That means there will ALWAYS be times where I interact online. My goal is to simply be more CONSCIOUS.
Will you join me?
How do you balance YOUR online/offline world? What are the benefits for you? The struggles? Leave a comment if you’re inspired.
7 thoughts on “Elements of an Internet Cleanse”
This rings true for me: Rules Don’t Work. Gentle Guidelines Do.
I’ve been trying to stay offline more and more…with intention. I still visit my “groups” too and foster friendships and relationships but I try not to go down that rabbit hole you mention. Yes, so much of my work life is online, but I enjoy staying away from time to time, too, to do what I love most: writing and cooking. Then I come back refreshed and ready to chat and engage.
SueAnn –
I love this post.
I too have a love-hate relationship with Facebook.
I love your way of engaging in this experiment with curiosity and keeping it life-giving rather than hard-line.
I also love your point about pasta hitting a different spot than zucchini strings. 🙂 Made me laugh out loud. Thanks for sharing! I’m going to join you….
“detox to retox” I have learned this lesson thoroughly with food. Because of people like you I am learning that FaceBook can be a place of nourishment. what a JOY!
I love this so much. The intention, the learning, the honesty. Thanks for being such an inspiration, Sue Ann. With LOVE!
As I’ve been working on several things, I’ve been thinking a lot about my online time both with Facebook and email. I’m trying to keep the bulk of my activity to a quick check in early morning with more time in the evening to “fall into rabbit holes” after the work is done. I too still find myself popping on through out the day … especially when I’m waiting … but I’m trying really hard to keep the checks quick (just long enough to relieve the tedium of the wait).
“Perfection never serves” I need to get that tattooed to my forehead. A perfect mantra as I move through my day in and off the interweb.
Hi Sue Ann— I think the saying “Everything in moderation” applys here! I try to keep my time on FB limited and diverse. Am amazed that it appears some of my friends “live” on FB from dawn to dusk. Too much for me! Thanks for you insightful “tip” for time off the Internet!!
Sue Ann,
This is such an ironic post for me to read today. I just posted a few pictures of our family vacation in Sunriver, Oregon. We are here to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and joined the Team in Training.
My husband, Bob, (62) entered the Long Course: 1.2 mile swim, 58 mile bike up Mt. Bachelor and a 13.1 mile run. He was amazing and came in 2nd in his age group!
This morning, my son Timothy (16) and I ran a 10K. Timothy came in 4th overall and won his age group!
So, I posted these pictures and a little comment and got over 80 “likes” (the most ever!!!) and dozens of upbeat comments and actually thought of you!
“Oh, so this is why Sue Ann loves Facebook. I get it. Connection and support,” I thought to myself.
When I was taking your class, you encouraged us to use the Facebook community and I just didn’t “get it.” I didn’t like spending so much time going down all those rabbit holes. I would come away from my computer hours later and disoriented. Sometimes I had skipped meals. My dog had not been out for his walk, yet. I didn’t even know what time it was.
But, today, with all those messages that came into my Facebook page, I finally “got it.” Ah, Facebook.
What an interesting day to read about an Internet Cleanse.
I guess it’s all about balance, right?
Sue Ann, thanks so much for all you do. I think about all I learned in your class with every meal, especially with my mint green smoothies and balancing flavors and mouth feel.
Love you!
Terry