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freelance journalist, freelance writing tips, freelancer, social media, writing, writing goals, writing life, writing process
I may be alone in this, but do you notice your routine changes with the season? Somehow the change in weather and amount of daylight shift, disrupt, and mold a new routine for me each season just as I became comfortable with the last one.
This fall, however, I’ve implemented my own changes to the seasonal shift I’m experiencing. One of the things that erased stress, improved my focus, and granted a sense of calmness during my staycation last month was signing out of email and social media. I went straight back to my usual work mode on my first day after my time off. That day I went back to “my normal”: I received emails and push alerts for social media on my phone, I reactivated my Google Alerts (all 30+ of them!), and I set timers for each of the projects I was working on.
I knew at the end of that day that I needed to make a long-term change.
At the end of that day I was more self-aware of stress, my to-do list remained the same as I was pulled in every other direction responding to alerts, and my timers did nothing more than cause other distractions and prevent me from completing what I needed to do.
What to do?
- Social media goes dark one full day each week. Many thanks to Claire Asbury Lennox for this concept. She started this practice earlier this year and documents it from time-to-time like in this post “10 Things I Did Yesterday Instead of Social Media.” (I met Claire at my 2-day Write Naked Workshop at the Farm at Weather’s Creek back in 2013.) The nice thing I’ve noticed about these breaks is that I’m not scrambling, excited, or racing to sign back in. It’s building a comfortable distance.
- GMail is now inactive on my phone. I only swipe in when I’m expecting something. Majority of the time I’m at my computer with my inbox open so no dire need for my phone to duplicate incoming alerts.
- Google Alerts have been trimmed down (less than 20) and only on terms/phrases that are most relevant to me and my clients’ work. If you don’t have these set up already, they’re a big help in staying connected with new online content for the terms you’re interested in!
Have you made similar changes?
Write Naked 
I don’t do screens of any sort on Sunday. I also cut off notifications on my phone. I want to ditch my FB app, as well. Just working up to cutting that cord.
Fantastic! I deleted the Facebook app off of my previous iPhone a few years ago. I’ve never installed it on my current phone, which I’ve had for 2 years. From talking to other folks it seems weekends are a popular time for a social media break. Sunday is a good choice–distraction-free brunches! 🙂
I’ve had a lot going on lately. To reduce stress and increase my self-care, I’ve started leaving my phone in my purse (usually at the bottom) any time I’m home. If something’s an emergency, that person can call 911. I also don’t check work emails outside of work hours.
I also make sure I have most of my daily protein in the morning to help me feel fueled for the rest of the day. No matter what happens for lunch or dinner (both of which are often disrupted or delayed for numerous reasons), I’ve at least had one whole, solid meal that day.
Good idea about distancing yourself from your phone! YES–food is SO important to an effective routine. Skipped meals are becoming too common for me and those big breakfasts definitely help. Hope things settle down and become less stressful for you soon!
I get up a little earlier, spend 2-3 days at home at least so I can eat better, and I turn off my phone’s wi-fi connection. 🙂 I also used to sign up for webinars and then forget about them. But I don’t hoard webinar registrations mindlessly; I sign up because there are things to learn/remember, so I’m more in study mode. It has helped my inspiration and business planning so far. 🙂
I should try the social media thing, but I’m actively participating in groups, and I signed up for a pitching challenge for October. So I don’t want to miss any opportunities posted on the groups. In November, though, I might go dark one day as well.
I had written a reply to this while on mobile and it was lost! I had such a nice little response prepared along the lines of how I register for webinars with no intention of attending live – I prefer accessing the recording on demand. Yay for your pitching challenge! This was a super hectic month for me and sounds like the same on your side of the world. I’m carefully planning a calm schedule for November.
I’ve been cutting down my social media time. I only log into FB once a day and twitter only every few days.
Last year I’d decided to take the whole month of December off, but there’s too many projects I need to catch up on to stay on track with my plans. So I won’t be doing that this year. But next year I’d like to plan ahead and take off at least 2 weeks, if not the whole month, and enjoy life and the holidays.
Thanks for your inspiration!
Wow, a whole month!! I’d love to do that. I haven’t had the holidays off in years.
Well, we’ll see. Talk to me in December 2017 LOL. But…maybe…if I start working towards that goal now.
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