The End of Silence

Last week I conducted a little bit of an experiment. I took myself out of the world of forever Twittering, using Facebook and the rest of the 24/7 social media frenzy. I used it for only work purposes and that was that. I did it because I wanted to see if I noticed a difference in myself and how my week played out via work and with family.

Here's what I noticed-

Initially, it wasn't that hard to cut myself off from Twitter. I still posted items for work but I didn't 140 character it up all through the day.

I got annoyed when people made fun of me for doing this whole #week of silence. Or when they called me to ask why I was still blogging. Um...work. Gah.

By the middle of the week I felt like I was missing out on things. I missed my friends who I talk to through Twitter and know IRL (that's 'in real life'). That's how we communicate. Email just doesn't work for us that often.

I read more blogs and diversified.

I felt less scattered and was able to concentrate on what was going on around me more. I can't say I got more accomplished because I was really sick all week and dealing with a sick baby too. I had no energy and quite frankly, the break from the Internet was just what my tired, sick body and brain needed.

I read more and absorbed more of what I was reading too. Yes, really. That stack of papers and magazines that piles up on my sideboard was gone by the middle of the week. I felt more informed and not about what Britney Spears.

I'm sure there is more, the week was sort of a mess with all the sickness that was involved, the never-ending rain and overall crankiness that all that can bring on. While I'm back on, I definitely saw the benefits of taking a break from everything for a while. Stepping away from it all always opens up my creativity and leaves me feeling calmer. It's worth doing and I know I will again in the future.