No social media for a week; What will I be doing?

I said I want to take a week off the internet and a friend asked me what I’ll be doing for a full week. I have decided to share this with you. 

I present my 1week internet-free scribble.

PLEASE NOTE: This is divided into 7 Episodes. So to access the next episode, scroll to the bottom of each episode and click on the NEXT PAGE.

This will help you to get a quality holiday even if you don’t have any plan to go on vacation in the Maldives or have any budget to travel anywhere. As long as you will be contented with your little beginnings, you will enjoy this to the fullest.

My plan is that the first 3 days will be 100 percent off while the remaining days will be 90 percent. 

But before we get into this, 

I think i lied to you; so let me confess

I was off social media. Not the Internet. 

Throughout these 7days break, I was still using the Internet to access my music player, Netflix, and podcasts. I was still using the Internet – I only shut off the major platforms that I normally use the most. 

For example, I blocked using WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter because I use them a lot. And to be clear, I use them for business. So it was an important devil.

Why call these social media platforms a devil?

I guess I don’t have the best proof but I can boldly say that I am addicted to these platforms. I easily switch between answering messages and getting distracted by entertainment rather than working. Yeah, I am used to these platforms. 

I remember before I quit my job, my boss noticed this at one point and would always try to lead by example any time he was around me. So, he will not use his phone if i am around but as soon as i get off his sight, he will quickly do some things. 

You may wonder how I got to know. Right? 

Well, I study people a lot and I understand body language. He does this because it makes it easy for him to scold me anytime I use my phone. Whereas, he also does side hustles online that keep him glued to his phone.

Not like I was using my phone when I ought to be working, it just always happens that he sees me using my phone. 

Man needed to make extra cash because the job wasn’t really paying well. In fact, my side-hustle yielded more income and I need to keep it alive if I want to continue to live well. 

I know this is an excuse and no one should be distracted while working. Do your job and be productive at it. Please, it is important. 

Well, my boss and I are both addicted to our phones and maybe you are addicted too – I am 65 percent sure you are. 

Why take 1week off? 

Since we can all agree that we are used to social media except for a few people, it is easier to give reasons why one should take-offs. 

Just like people take the ‘no soft drink’ challenge or ‘no bra’ day to sensitize others and themselves about its importance and caution to take, I present to you why I decided to always do this social media offs twice every year. 

1. To reduce burnout 

Burnout is real but we don’t take it seriously. No matter how happy you are, doing what you do, you will still experience burnout.

Can I ask you a question?

Do you ever experience not feeling eager to do anything? Like, you just wake up one day and it all feels like everything you have been doing is irrelevant and a waste; you lost motivation and strength to do anything and when you look for a reason why this is happening, it is hard to find one. 

I can help you answer that you must have experienced this unless you didn’t notice.

That’s one of the symptoms of burnout.

So if those that really enjoy their job can experience this, how much more those that don’t even like the job they are doing?

More simply put, if you feel exhausted, start to hate your job, and begin to feel less capable at work, you are showing signs of burnout.

Anonymous

And to be clear

It doesn’t just affect those working, it also affects students and anyone who can be stressed – as long as you can be stressed out, you probably cannot run away from burnout.

It also can take a deep dive into one’s mental, and physical health and it can lead to depression if not addressed on time.

So in a nutshell, I take this off to reduce burnout.

There is an adage in my dialect, Yoruba, that says

The lifespan of a business/job/company is longer than the lifespan of any human

In other words, if I stop working today because of any uncontrollable effects like death, mental disorder, etc., the work continues. I will simply be replaced. 

Right?

2. To pause and think 

This is one of my favourite reasons. I love to think deeply into getting a creative solution to something. 

Taking time out like this gives me the luxury of time without work pressure to do this. 

I think about my life, relationship, business, and my family and I also come up with the next step to take to better all that has been going on. 

I’m aware that people have painted thinking black. Some people see thinking as a bad thing but great thinkers are the ones that sit at the top of everything all over the world.

Why do you think wealthy people buy yachts just to have solace in an ocean? Why do you think they have a penthouse? Why do you think people go on vacation in a very quiet place?

To shut out the noise. Right? 

Yes, so that they can think. 

Some other things I think about are my plan for the year and how to do better in achieving them.

3. To do routine maintenance – Rest my eyes and head

Since I use social media a lot, it means that I always stay glued to screens which I am aware has a negative side effect on my eyes and my brain. 

I got an antiglare glasses but i sat on it and it broke. 

Aside from that, I – being a creative person, who writes, manages people, and does some other things that require creativity – tend to overstress my brain and I sometimes feel it. I can sometimes feel the heat in my head like someone is pounding yam there. 

So, this is the time to give my brain and eyes rest – even the phones, laptops, and other things I use can rest. 

All I do is have a good sleep, eat, see nice movies and go to nice places around me.

Check this out

I was told that if you sneeze, your whole system simply takes a pause to restart again. I am not sure how true it is but it feels that way to me because when you try to sneeze, you stop everything while waiting for the sneeze to come. Sometimes, it doesn’t come until the third attempt. Right?

Remember how you stop talking to the person in front of you; how you move your face sideways and then hang your hands in the air; remember how you close your eyes halfway and how you breathe in so deep.

And when you finally sneeze, it comes in a rush. 

That feeling – that’s what I am talking about. 

Take the Pause and reboot

With these few points of mine, I hope I’ve been able to convince you to join me in taking breaks, especially off social media. 

I’m done yet. 

In about a couple of episodes, I will share my journey towards my seven days off with you. 

Be sure that you will learn a lot from it. I’m not just going to just impress you with the fun I had but I am also going to tell you what I learned along the way. 

This one thing I promise

It will be fun, interesting, and educating.

Take this from me.

Shall we begin?

Cheers Distinct!

Click the next page to see what day 1 looks like got me.