I’m taking a different tack today and want to write about something that has been causing me dramas recently. Social media. I find it easy to get sucked into this black hole.
For me that social media platform is Facebook. For you, it could well be one of the plethora of other sites and platforms that are available – Insta, Twitter, LinkedIn, you get the picture.
So, what’s the problem? Minute stretch into hours and I’ve done nothing useful at all. I’ve got two little kids who take up a lot of my time (as at writing) so I often only get short little snippets of time throughout a standard day. And it’s so easy to jump onto my preferred platform for a few minutes here and there. Then I’ve lost so much useful time in my day. Sound familiar?
It gets trickier when you need to use said platform to connect with people for business.
So how do you go about unwinding the addiction? *
- Work out where you are using the platform. Is it from your phone, computer, laptop, tablet, some other fancy device I don’t know about?
- Delete the app from your phone/device that you use it from most often. Yes it’s hard to do and you will miss it. It’s much easier to not open it when it’s not there.
- Do not reinstall! Easier said than done, I know! But don’t do it!
- Install a feed blocker on your computer or laptop. Which one you choose depends on a number of things. Which platform is it? Which operating system do you use (Apple, Windows)? What browser type do you use (Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc)? For example if you are using Facebook on a Mac laptop or desktop – install a feed blocker. Newsfeed Eradicator (Chrome extension), Feedless (Apple store) are a couple of options available
- If you are on a Mac you could install SelfControl and get some data on how much time you are spending on different apps and websites. Look for other options for Windows users.
- Search online to find the best feed blocker for your circumstances from the questions above.
- Other blockers include: Freedom, StayFocusd, WasteNoTime.
*Credit goes to Nancy the doula for most of these tips.
If these steps still don’t help, then please book in and see me. I can help you get to the root of the issue and unwind your addiction!