30 Day Social Media Detox (September 1st - 30th 2016)

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Didn't I celebrate my 9 year blog anniversary just yesterday! and here I am about to unplug myself for a much-needed 30 day social media detox starting tomorrow until the end of September. How am I going to do it? The DO's and DON'Ts are in the post below.

It is almost three 'o clock in the morning as I type this post. I couldn't sleep as my mind is filled with so many thoughts and brimming with such euphoria which is hard to explain. I am about go cold turkey and start a 30 day social media detox from tomorrow. Oh boy! and strangely I can't wait to see how it goes. While I don't believe I am an addict per say but I do have this lingering feeling like my brain has too many tabs open all the time. I spend every free moment during the day browsing, liking, sharing and trying to craft those perfect updates accompanied by appropriate hashtags for maximum exposure. The idea of unplugging has been on my mind for quite sometime. I thought there is no better time like September as it is my birthday month and there could be no better gift to myself than the luxury of being offline. Don't you all agree?

Tons of people (just google "no social media for 30 days") have already taken this challenge with some saying as dramatic as it actually changed their life. I don't know what experiences are in store for me but am ready to give it a try and discover for myself. 

Now, without boring you with details on how spending less time on social media is actually good for you, here is how I am going to tackle the detox:

The Prep:

* Phone: This is a very important and crucial step of the process - to remove all social media apps (Bye bye Instagram!) from the phone. As you can see below, I removed Facebook a long time ago and with a heavy heart, I deleted Instagram and Twitter as well. Man, this is going to be challenging and hopefully rewarding!

* Laptop: Next, both on my work and personal laptops - I deleted all social media shortcuts in my browser's bookmarks bar and since I use only Chrome for browsing, I installed an extension called Block Site. All you have to do is type in the URLs you want to block and then you cannot access them, ever. It is cruel I know but much needed step.

Now that the groundwork is done, we are ready to go!

Finally, here are some of my DO's and DON'Ts for the challenge. I am writing them here purely for accountability purposes and also to let you know that I will be publishing posts on the blog as I plan to write as much as I can (without any pressure of marketing the posts for traffic) during the next 30 days:

DON'Ts:

* No Updates on Social Media (Duh!) except for email as it is used for communication purposes.

* No Peeking into any of the feeds: Yes, quite literally no peeking. Total abstinence. I might not know what my friends ate for lunch/dinner (no pun intended here, I love those posts!) or instantly not see the teaser for my favorite  upcoming movie. It is ok. I think I can live with the delay without any FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out!)

DO's:

* Write: Though social media (sharing) is off limits, I want to continue writing on this blog but with a different mindset: to not waste any mental energy on how good or bad writer I am. No judgements, just stringing words for the joy of writing. She is my inspiration.

* Morning Routine: I do start my days early (without much choice, due to work commitments) but always grudgingly. The idea here is to waking up early as an ingrained habit with a consistent morning routine.

* Run: If you are following me on Instagram, then you know that I am in the amidst of a #100DaysOfRunning challenge. I will continue to do it and try to post some regular updates here on the blog.

* Read Books: I am already on my 29th book (W00t! W00t!) for this year. The goal is to read at least 30 books or as much as I can at a leisurely pace.

* Read Blogs + Leave Comments: I don't even remember the last time I wrote a meaningful comment on a friend's blog. It seems like I am always in a rush to get to the point, bookmark (if I like it) and move on to the next thing. Not anymore.

* Blog Repairs: Yep, I have a long to-do list of itsy bitsy fixes for this blog and I intend to get to them one at a time.

Phew! that was a long post.

Will this social media detox diet pay off over long run?  Time will tell.

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until next recipe,