This is an archived blog from when I ran Conscious Public Relations Inc. from 2008-2018. Excuse the potential outdated-ness!
What I learned from staying offline for 7 days.
This month has been a blur but I’ve learned SO much about myself. I went from not having a Director to hiring an amazing one (yay, Cynnamon!), from not being hands on with clients to managing two clients, and from spending a lot of time on business development to thinking about my team, growth, and the future of Conscious PR. After The Art of Leadership Conference on September 16, I came up with a BIG idea. I tend to do this every couple of years, and the best ideas are the ones that stick with me (Conscious PR was a mere idea in November 2011). This big idea is sticking with me so much that I’ve already told a few people about what’s in store. And when you tell people about it, that’s when you know it’s probably going to happen.
I decided to go on a digital detox from Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat for a week because I noticed that I’ve been lacking rest lately (and before you say, “take a vacation!” remember that I took a week off this summer to get married, and no, I can’t afford vacation time right now) and wanted to read some business books that have been on my reading list for a while. So I thought that on the nights when I might be spending a good few hours on personal e-mail or social media, I’ll spend that time reading a book instead. In the past week and a half, I’ve been able to get through 3.5 books, and I added more to my list, so I can safely say that I’m on fire.
During the detox I was still surfing Twitter (and unfollowing – I’m now -1000 than who I was following before) and posting on social media for business, but I noticed most of all how much time I had during my evenings that I would have spent on Facebook. I’m on Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat too but I’ll spend about 30 mins. max on those networks a day, whereas Facebook I can spend at least an hour. That’s an hour I could be reading, working on personal projects, or spending time with Leo.
Now that I’m off the detox, I’m being a lot more careful about how I spend my time on social media. So you won’t be seeing me as much on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat unless it’s about something I’m supporting or when I launch some of my big projects next year. I love Facebook for funny videos, a-ha anecdotes, and helping out business colleagues in groups, but I’ve discovered how much of a life-sucker it can be, especially if you post for clients. Know your boundaries.
During my detox I would think about a lot of witty things to say on social, and resisted the urge to post on Twitter & Facebook. So being silent doesn’t mean that you don’t lack the wit, it just means that you have a life too. And as I have said in a previous blog before, you have to live life and not always share your life on social media. There’ll always be time for a #latergram.
