I’ve talked in the past about not being a fan of New Year’s Resolutions, so staying true to that, I didn’t make any this year. Although I still like setting a few good goals.
Instead, this year I have been creating a different experiment each month for myself. I prefer ‘experiment’ to challenge. It has to be something simple, impactful and ideally poised to become a lasting habit.
For example, in February I brought back my habit of drinking lemon water first thing in the morning. I’m not sure when that habit went out the window, but I’m back on it since Feb. 1st and after one month of experimenting, it’s once again a part of my daily routine
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In March, I decided to limit social media to checking two times per day. I’ve long felt that this soical media, while it has some positive aspects, can quickly turn into a numbing time suck. During the month I had some successful days, and several not so successful where I fell down the scrolling rabbit hole.
As the month was winding down, I realized that overall, the March experiment had been mostly a fail. So in a last ditch effort, I decided to delete the Facebook and Instagram apps from my phone.
I’ve thought about doing that before, but always have had reasons not to. Mostly business related.
I have a business, I HAVE to post regularly and be able to post at a moment notice.
I might miss something important.
What if I want to share photos, or check in, or….who knows!
How will I know what everyone’s up to?
And the list went on.
I decided to give it a go, at least for a few weeks, reassuring myself that I can always put them back.
It’s been far easier than I thought.
Here are a few observations so far.
- Awareness – I frequently grabbed my phone to scroll when waiting in line, actually when I’m waiting period…even when someone I’m with goes to the restroom while we’re out for dinner or coffee. Now I am so much more aware of my automatic behaviors.
- Intention – I’m more intentional when I do log in (I still use my iPad to post and check in on what’s happening. But since I leave the iPad at home, there’s far less time spent on it.)
- Freedom – It’s kind of hard not to fall into the comparison with social media, so now there’s a lot less comparison with others or concerning myself with that they’re doing. I can put the focus on what I’M doing instead.
- Productivity – way up for sure!
- Presence – priceless 🙂
Deep inside we KNOW what we need to do when there’s something we want to change, elevate, or improve, it’s just sometimes hard to make that leap.
What is it for you? Once you make the choice, it may be easier than you think.