How to Get Off of Facebook- And Stay Off

Complete- Drop #47: Wean Myself from Social Media

  
      Let me just say this: if you are one of the 175 Million People who log in to Facebook at least once a day, there is no weaning yourself. It's similar to a drug. How many cigarette smokers are addicted and yet choose to only have one cigarette each week? Not many. Sure, it happens, but the reality is that very few individuals are able to control the urge to check their accounts, especially when it's just a mouse click or finger-tap away.

     Sure, Facebook has its benefits. I can now easily connect with people from all different periods in my life. I can easily organize an event, check up on my favorite product, an announcement easily reaches an important target audience- people I know.
     Bored? How easy it is to fulfill my desire for instant satisfaction and a relief to my boredom! It is this underlying concept that makes social sites such as Facebook so addicting. Instant connections, instant boredom relief!

     Facebook has its drawbacks as well. If you are a daily user, the site is bound to cumulatively take up a good amount of time out of your day. Much of this time is spent wandering aimlessly around the site, 'FB stalking' others profiles, etc. It's only human nature to be curious, but never before has there been such a tool that has catered to that curiosity.

Summer

     As nobody would notice since I am basically the only person keeping up with this blog, I haven't updated for a while. Definitely not posting every week! It may not be immediately obvious as to why I stopped posting as religiously as I used to. But, upon further evaluation, it becomes clear that my last post was posted on the week of a notable event: The end of my Facebook Sabbatical.


     The sabbatical itself was amazing. I highly recommend it to anybody who has to check their social media site at minimum once a day. For those who stay logged on all the time, I think it is necessary. I found myself much more motivated, and got a lot more done. I finished school, started a garden, started my volunteer job, kept up with this blog, etc. I was hoping I wouldn't slip back in to my old routine, but I suppose it is inevitable. On a positive note, though, I no longer use it on my phone. So, I am no longer FBing on the run. Deleting the Facebook account is looking more and more attractive. Perhaps when summer is over, and school starts again.

     On another note, I haven't not had a job since I was 15 or 16. So, this summer is going to be very interesting for me. I find myself bored quite often (and, hence, on FB). What I have decided to do to alleviate that boredom is to get as much accomplished on this list as possible, and start a few of the bigger, more time consuming tasks. Here are some of the things I would like to either get started on or accomplished, and a bit about how I plan on going about doing it.

Drops to Work on this Summer: 

1. Paint a really incredible painting

• I am not for sure how I am going to do this or what it's going to be of, entail, consist of, etc. I suppose the first thing I should do is really get an idea of what it is I am going to be painting. I think I would really like to do an abstract, but mix in other materials and objects which are quite distinguishable. Come to think of it, even if I get a good idea and perhaps a rough draft of the painting out this summer, I'll be happy. I can always start on it whenever I feel motivated to do so (what I am trying to say is I am not motivated right now... ha ha).

2. Catch up on all my bills
8. Learn Vietnamese

• I do really want to learn this language. I'm going to have to Rosetta Stone it up ASAP, and accomplish as much of it as I can

13. Have a successful garden

• I have already started my garden! Right now I am trying to grow lettuce, snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, scallions, onions, lemongrass, herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley, mustard greens, Thai basil), and attempting Serrano peppers (which started out good, but are recovering slowly from transplantation). I am having two major problems: The first, is that weeds are rapidly spreading. I'm not always 100% sure which one I am supposed to pull and which is the vegetable. And secondly, cats use it as a litter box. Yuck. Other than that, everything is looking pretty good!

15. Become fluent in Spanish

• I'm already pretty good in Spanish. I'm just going to try to change my settings over, make everything in Spanish, and practice that way. My main focus this summer is on learning Vietnamese. If I can catch my Vietnamese up to the level of understanding I have in Spanish, it will be a successful summer.

18. Cut my hair short and give it to a hair charity

• This kind of coincides with the previous drop of growing my hair out to the top of my buttocks. I think it's close enough. By the end of the summer, I think I am going to call it a quits and cut it short. I've had it long for 5 yrs plus. I might chicken out by the end of the summer, though. Yeah, I'll probably chicken out.

32. Go scuba diving
33. Jump off a cliff in to water
40. Read the Bible (Including old testament) and Quran.

• Not planning on finishing, but would like to get started

41. Send a postcard in to PostSecret



     I was going to put drop 45 down also because it's something that's quick to cross off, but I'm not ready for a tattoo yet. And besides, I ended up putting a lot more down here than I thought I would. I suppose that a lot of these are doable in summer's time. I just loose track so easily of the day. I'm so used to being busy all the time that, although no longer being so time restricted is a relief, I also don't know how to properly use the spare time to get things done. I've always had to be somewhere at a certain time, and that more often than not is no longer the case. This will give me something to do and work towards.

     Oh, I also have to do those darn GREs... but that's not on the list

Update: Drops 26, 27 and 39

     My Facebook Sabbatical thus far has been a success. Granted, it's only been about five days, but hey- I can only make the days go by so fast! Plus, I have to post either today or tomorrow to show progress on drop 39. I have to say, though, I am really very much so enjoying my sabbatical. How nice it is not to have to pay attention to everybody's sob stories and excuses for not living for the day! I know what you may be thinking, perhaps... Nobody makes you partake in all of the drama that is the world of social media. Well, of course not. Hence the Sabbatical. But, really, just by logging on and going down the 'newsfeed', glancing at what's on the mind of various friends and acquaintances both old and new, I am convinced that whether it is known or not, it does have an effect on your daily do-ings (if you will...). The very first day, I just felt such positive-ness, almost (it felt like) in the form of a sense of relief. I still occasionally feel like logging on, yes. But I am convinced that the longer I continue on my Sabbatical the better I will feel, the more positive I will be, and I don't know that I will even bother with it again. Don't quote me at this point, though :-).

     As far as my organization and an attempt at becoming a neat freak... I am trying. I think this is something that may take a long time to adjust to. I am taking it slow, and have started out with my wallet/purse. I am trying to keep all things that belong in a wallet actually in the wallet rather than pockets, floating in huge purse, etc. It's kind of floundering right now; it has its ups and downs. On a related note, I took my spring break to do the typical clean out the living space routine. My question is... Is it really supposed to stay as neat as when I cleaned it? It's amazing how little effort it takes to really mess this place up. What am I supposed to do, run around with paper towels and disinfectant everywhere?

     And, although the house is currently clean, the basement has flooded from all the melting snow. It's only about three inches, really, but now damp basement smell is coming up into the house. Yuck.