Last week, I decided what I was going to get myself for Valentine’s Day (me and myself have a loving relationship). I was going to give myself a day off from social media. I would not write a blog post. I would not twitter a tweet. I would not facebook a facebook status. I would unplug as much as is possible in today’s world.
As the day approached, I realized with a start that I don’t think I’ve ever taken 24 hours away from social media, like completely away, since I started blogging almost 2 years ago. There have been days that I didn’t blog and there have been days that I didn’t tweet or Facebook *much*, but a whole 24 hours with nothin coming from me? I don’t think it has happened.
Mark Valentine’s Day 2012 on your calendar. I spent the whole day away from producing content, and the only stuff I did was play on Pinterest.
You know what the weird thing is? I REALLY enjoyed myself.
I love social media, but it’s work
Here is the reality that bonked me on the head during my ever so brief hiatus. Are you ready?
Social Media is a lot more work than we think it is.
Now, I’m not asking anyone to play a violin for me, but consider everything that goes into this “social media stuff.”
• You are perpetually “on” in two ways – you hope to provide interesting content and you hope to provide content that won’t lead into a complete crap storm (unless you enjoy those, but I do not)
• You are constantly monitoring. Did someone mention you in a post or link to a post of yours? Did someone ask you a question? Did someone nicely tweet out a post of yours? Your ears are always ringing.
• You are always trying to respond in kind. I get extremely brilliant comments here on my blog. That to me means that each comment deserves an equally thoughtful (though maybe not as brilliant) reply. That’s a lot of writing in a short span of time.
The list goes on and on. Really, we have our brains running perpetually on overdrive and we don’t even notice it because social media “stuff” is happening ever so covertly in the background of other stuff “stuff” we are doing.
The clock is always running
Even in the most stressful jobs, there are times when it’s probably okay to be a bit slower to reply. In some more traditional jobs, you have the generally accepted 9-5 Monday-Friday gig. You may do a bit here and there over the weekend, but it’s generally considered “overtime.”
In social media world, we don’t take breaks because a) we don’t feel like we can and b) because the clock is always running. When I go to bed, it’s only 7 or so in California. It’s already the next morning in places like Australia and New Zealand and Malaysia and the Philippines. People are emailing me, tweeting me, Facebooking me, all while I am sleeping. From the moment I wake up, there is stuff to reply to. Sometimes, insomniacs may catch themselves responding to things at 3 or 4 in the morning.
You know you’ve done it.
Is this all natural though? Are our brains meant to be this “on” all the time? Or, let me put it another way. Is it healthy for our brains to be stimulated by the same kinds of stuff nearly 24/7, 365? I’m not sure it is. A day without the daily grind showed me that a lot of social media really is a grind. It’s pressure. It’s risk. It’s frustration. It’s pulling back something you want to say or saying something you shouldn’t have said and then apologizing, all in the very public world.
That’s kind of crazy when you think about it, right?
I went about 2 years without pulling away fully from social media for more than 24 hours. That’s 2 years without a single day off, pretty much.
When was the last time you unplugged, completely, for any length of time? What was your experience?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestarmama/69575266/ via Creative Commons
Great points Margie!
It really is a balancing act and for a while (I admit it) I didn’t want to take any time off due to what seemed to be a direct correlation with a plummeting Klout score. I’ve since wised up, but I completely agree with you – there’s no “down” time when you’re always on.
@GregOrtbach I don’t really know what happened to me. Well, actually, that’s not true. I first started tweeting shortly before I had to do a presentation on Twitter and Facebook. I thought it might be good if I could show that people responded to me on occasion, and I also thought it would be good if I had more than 7 followers. So I kept working on it at a feverish pace, and then I just kinda…got sucked in. Honestly though, with all of the scheduled/automatic tweets via Triberr and all of the cross-pollination from 1 platform to the other, the online world is seeming a bit more cluttery to me than it used to, so it’s kind of easier just to say, “Eh, I think I’ll read a book.”
I’ve been trying to completely unplug for at least one day over the weekend, sometimes the entire weekend (Shock and Awe!). It’s incredible, how much better it makes me feel. And I’m also learning that when I say I’m going to be “out of office,” I actually have to practice that, i.e. no replying to emails from my iPhone unless it’s an emergency… otherwise why should anyone take me seriously and respect my time? So YEA to taking the day off. We all need to do it more often!
@Shonali I’ve never been able to totally leave work. A lot of our clients work well into the night, and I’ve always felt an obligation to respond. Also, my dad/boss tends to work at night, so I like to see what I’m going to be walking into the next day 🙂 I do know a lot of people who unplug for the weekend and it always sounds like such a romantic concept. I never seem to make it though. How sad is that?
@margieclayman It’s only sad if you don’t like it. If it works for you, more power to you!
So my question to you Margie is are you going to do this on a regular basis? My use of social media has declined immensely since I have re-joined the real world and I have no regrets. I am learning to be much more strategic about how I use it, I delegate when possible, and I don’t sweat the small stuff.
@Fierce_living I’m with you, Jim. I use social media much, much less than I used to and nothing much has changed in terms of my business. I am more strategic in how I use it now. I also take most of the weekends off. I see social media as similar to using the phone. Just because I can connect and communicate with a device, doesn’t mean I have to be plugged into it all day long. Who says we can’t take time off? People have to move beyond what is possible to and assumptions of what is expected and do what works for them.
@susangiurleo @Fierce_living I have also decreased my usage SIGNIFICANTLY. My first summer on Twitter I did a chat every night except for Friday, and sometimes I’d do 2-3 chats a night. It was way a lot. I can’t say I regret any of it because most of the great people i know now I met through those chats. However, I don’t want to go back to that level of craziness again *ever*
@Fierce_living I think at some point I’m going to try to take a month away. Just because I don’t like to think that any one facet of my life has more control than my brain does. I find it worrisome that I am as plugged in as I am, but social media kind of snowballs on you like that. So many people say kind things to/about me, I feel obligated to show them my appreciation. I don’t want to become one of those people who is just too “awesome” to respond, ya know?
I don’t take days off… Mainly cuz I’m a part timer as it is! Take that back.. My phone charger was fried a few weeks back and was without my droid for appx 23 hours, but I didn’t feel any better about myself.
Now, I’ve got a small beef with you Claycomm – “I took a day off from Social Media… I just played on Pinterest all day” Huh?? When did Pinterest cease to become a social network? Checkmate! Just kidding, I’m gonna go follow your pins now 😉
@SociallyGenius I didn’t say *all day* 🙂 Yeah, I know. I cheated. But Pinterest is very light on the stress-o-meter. You are basically clicking buttons based on other peoples’ hard work. It is oddly mind-numbing. Creating content is a little more brainy. For most people 🙂
When I went on vacation my laptop died. I was without a computer for awhile. It has been hard to get back into the routing. Which makes me realize I have a routine. *lol*
@susansilver Ain’t that the truth!!
Balance is always the key. All things in moderation. It is very easy to get caught up in keeping up and pressing hard to get ahead or even just stay in the game. It is also easy to get smothered by it and lose your footing. A day off in the sunlight, with friends, or even by yourself can help bring some perpsective back into our lives.
We have to remember to atend to ourselves and to our real lives. If I don’t show up on twitter or FB for a couple of days someone will “look” for me, but somehow I think it will go on just as well until I return.
Congrats on the day off.
Martina
@martinamcgowan
@Martina McGowan Yeah, somehow I managed to live a lot of years without the world of social media. I’m pretty sure I could do it again. Hey, I can quit this any ole time 🙂
OMGosh! DID you SEE what I did? I had a total and complete SNAFU on Twitterville last night! At one point, YOUR friendship was the ONLY thing that kept me from going all verbally-psycho in front of the entire planet! LOL, yeah, well, that AND the fact that Twitter told me I had reached my tweet limit… A TWEET LIMIT?! I, for one, obviously, have been remiss in reading the little words!
Anyhow! This is a wonderful post, Marjorie. My only “real” break away has been last Fall’s Hunting Season. Even then, I would come in ever 10 days and write until I would literally fall asleep on my keyboard and wake to weird designs pressed into my face and chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh across the page I was writing last! LOL. It IS hard work. It is REALLY hard work.
It also takes you having your wits about you. I have a tendency to be…(what does Boss call me…? Oh!) precocious. Added to that I tend to OCD myself into a corner at times. Focus is easy (this is the only positive side effect of the OCD, that I have experienced! LOL) Being too tired, drained or just plain old “input-overload” says we need a break- a real break and not only the 5 minutes for a refill of coffee and potty break, two or three times a day. (I include this looking over my shoulder… I decided the other day is was too much wasted time- in my new office, walking all the way -maybe 15 steps, to the coffee pot in the kitchen. Now, my 36 cup pot sits on the file cabinet, maybe two steps away.
Anyhow- you caught my eye with today’s post, so see you soon! LOL There I go!
@girlygrizzly You crack me up, girlfriend. I’m glad my friendship steered you away from the edge of insanity. By the same token, if I’m preventing you from insanity we are both in really big trouble 😀
I have yet to fall asleep at the keyboard but I can see how it could happen. I just love my bed a little more than I love my computer, that’s all 😀
Wonderful post and so very true – My same sentimentshere and I can totally relate – with my sales job I know I only work from about 9 am to 5 pm but in social media it’s always on…..isn’t Pinterest social media too????
Anyway, I do myself a big favor every weekend -and stay away from the FB, Twitter and my blogs – I give myself a much needed break – and I feel refreshed!
In gratitude,
nancy
I’ve tried to take a day off, but a full inbox drives me crazy. Then there is all the great stuff people are sharing. I’m actually looking forward to my trip to Italy b/c it’s a great reason to, at least, slow down the social medial treadmill. Although I’m sure I’ll want to share all the beautiful pix I take as well as the information. We’ll see.
And to think, at one point I actually lived with a rotary phone, connected to the wall. And no call waiting or voice mail. And no CNN. How’d I even survive?
HA…I do this as often as possible. I LOVE being a slacker. It RAWKS!