Last week my husband and I took a short trip to Lake Tahoe for some down-time and much-needed relaxation. Since we drove, I packed all the food we’d need. I didn’t want to leave the cabin except to walk in the fresh air or sit under the trees on the back deck.
I thought that would be enough to relax me. I thought I knew how to decompress. I was wrong, I didn’t.
My view out the cabin windows.
Of course my iPhone and iPad (constant companions) came along for the ride. I brought several books to read, but was most anxious to dive into Arianna Huffington’s latest book, Thrive.
Arianna’s talk at BlogHer, had struck an important nerve in me. A very tightly wound one. I knew I was over stressed, over scheduled and not making enough time for me. I knew Thrive would have the message I needed to hear and the tools I needed learn.
“And by so-obsessively documenting our experiences, we never truly have them.”
~Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and author of Alone Together
What was I doing? Why was I so addicted to social connecting and sharing? Was I really living A Well Styled Life, or just showing one?
I decided I had to unplug from all social media and phone contact, right then. Cold turkey for 24 hours! I actually used my iPad to snap a visual of me powering off my phone…which I proceeded to share! That borders on crazy in my book!
As the 24 hour mark rolled around, I felt no desire to plug back in. The second day was even more relaxing and I started hounding my husband to also unplug.
Nearing the 48 hour mark, I felt slightly panicked at the thought of all those emails, texts and updates I knew would be waiting when I fired things back up. I really didn’t want to plug back in.
I turned things back on around 4:30 and almost immediately posted “dinner” to Instagram. OK, that’s just sick! Did I need a 12 step intervention program for Instagram?
Dinner on the BBQ…but why did I have to share this?
The relaxation evaporated changed, once my phone was back on. Even though I was still in a pristine cabin surrounded by gorgeous nature, I saw things differently. I saw things and wanted to share, not just enjoy.
In 2012, Harvard researchers found that sharing information about ourselves activates the same part of the brain associated with the pleasure we experience from eating food, receiving money and having sex.
A little online (of course) research found these “No Distraction” tools and apps that help people stay focused or unplug.
- Anti-Social – a social network-blocking software that allows you to avoid distracting sites.
- Nanny – Chrome extension that blocks distracting sites from your browser.
- Self Control – Can keep your computer off-line for preset blocks of time.
- Rescuetime – presents you a readout tracking your online activity at the end of the day.
- Freedom – completely blocks the internet from your computer for a set time.
- Time Out – reminds you to take a 10 minute break every 50 minutes.
Jennifer, I think it’s so true we share more than we actually enjoy and it does get terribly addicting. I got off Facebook last few weeks because I everything was crazy at home and didn’t miss it or Instagram. Now I try to just go on my computer to write, but then I feel guilty about not reading all my pals blogs, like yours. So hard to have a good balance right? The best part is I got a lot done, painted walls, read some books and felt pretty happy! I think it is better! I want to read that book. I read her last one about fear it was good too. She’s a smart lady. Hope you got to enjoy Tahoe. It’s amazing this time of year. I think it must have been hard not to share every leaf on Instagram! I so understand. xo Kim