So I had this work travel thing from 28th of April till the 8th of May and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to not use the phone / SM. Why? Two reasons.
A, because I am travelling for work, I have this excuse that I can’t respond. So, I could get away from all the calls/emails etc.
B, I had to anyway do 12 sessions (one session is one weekend) of detox in this year. That means one session every month. And I am running terribly behind schedule on that. This was the perfect opportunity!
Side note. In case you are interested, this is what I hope to do in 2019.
So, from that 10ish-day long period when I did not have Twitter or Instagram, here are some random observations. In no order…
1. Replacements.
The human mind is so amazing that in the absence of little Dopamine awards that I was getting I found alternatives.
Once I uninstalled twitter, FB and Instagram, I resorted to using LinkedIn as a Social Networking tool. No, I did not respond to messages from strangers but I would scroll the timeline to see what the world was up to. Which is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Good – I know what the world is up to. Bad – the jealousy pangs when you see that everyone else has all the money.
The other one I got hooked onto was Tik Tok. Really. It’s sad to another level. I’ll probably write about it soon.
And 2048 (I saw Mihir play it on his computer once and I am hooked). I did reach 4096 if that is any validation.
2. Bliss
I realised that in the absence of social media, I had no clue what was happening in the world around me. I don’t read newspapers and I don’t have access to a TV. So I was largely ignorant about what was happening in the world. Things like elections, IPL and others went by and I was not affected at all.
3. Sleep
Did I sleep well because I was a little less anxious? No, I did not. Not because I did not have SM. But because I was at an event.
4. Am I working more / better?
No. I don’t know why. I think this is that thing that says that most people would revert to being their laziest self if given an opportunity. I’ve been lazy past so many days. I need to fix it.
5. I am old.
I realised that I am growing old fast. There was a time when I could stay up for hours at stretch and not get tired. Now, I was like a zombie. Even though I was not scrolling through my timeline, I was still up (for work) and that affected my health. It’s been 2 days that I am back and I am still weak and groggy and all that.
6. It’s tough to get back to the grind.
Really is. Really is. In the sense that, like I said, been two days, I am yet to start work! Work in the sense – writing, meetings, work etc.
7. I am sure there are more! But for the time being, this is it.
The lessons for next time?
That when I go on a digital detox, I ought to throw my phone out altogether. Sounds scary. But let’s see if I can do that.
Chalo, that’s it for the time being. Over an out.
PS: To be honest, this is not the best post that I’ve written.
I just wanted to get back in the grind of writing every day – I am yet to restart the SoG series (haven’t been able to think of the future of those letters), haven’t written a post on 100 people to thank, haven’t added a word on my next book even though I have someone who is helping me. Like I said, it’s tough 🙁
Let’s see where this goes in a few days.