How are you doing with your time journal? What time thieves did you discover and eliminate so far? I can’t wait to hear what they are. Remember, nothing changes unless we change. That in itself is a challenge, isn’t it?
The last few days we talked about the time we spend vegging out in front of the TV or computer and how that time slips away from us to be gone forever. But I forgot another big time thief – social media. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing tool to stay connected, but it can also be quite distracting. It doesn’t matter if it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp or whatever else you use.
The biggest problem with social media is that it’s everywhere. We check in from our computers, tablets, and of course the ever-present smart phone. We tend to check as soon as it pins, no matter what we might be doing and before you know it, thirty minutes or more have gone by that you can’t get back. Research has shown that it takes us about 20 minutes to get back into what you were doing before we got distracted. That means you might lose several hours of focused time just because you check what is going on.
Here’s an eye-opening exercise for you.
Get a click counter or an app on your phone and start keeping track of how many times you access social media per day. Include any and all devices you use and add to the running total even when you’re just looking at it “for a second”. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be a bit shocked by how high that number actually is. This is one distraction that isn’t usually caught by the time log I challenged you to keep a few days ago since the social media interactions are so quick and frequent. Trust me though, no matter how briefly you access each platform, it all starts to add up and distracts you from other things.
How often do you miss part of a conversation or a fun moment with your kids because you were busy answering a Whatsapp message, commenting on Facebook, or retweeting something? Is it worth missing all those important little moments in life? And think about what you would have time and mental energy for if you weren’t constantly distracted by social media?
Remember, the goal is to live more intentionally and do things with purpose. You don’t want to let TV, computer or social media distract you from that goal.
Today I want to really challenge you.
Are you willing to commit to not using social media at all for 48 hours?
Turn off all alerts on your phone and don’t allow yourself to go to the sites at all for 2 days.
How does that feel?
Do you miss it? Does it make you nervous or anxious?
IT’S TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TIME!!!
Take control of your social media and TV consumption instead of letting it control you!
What can you change starting today to make that happen?