I think my media fast the past month was fairly successful, except that my fetish for checking email was not curbed. Here are the highlights:
- Fewer distractions cluttering up the mind. Since I was not watching or reading any news or listening to any other miscellaneous information, my thoughts were much more focused in general and I believe my productivity increased.
- I paused for a split-second before checking email. Even though early on I decided to forego the one-a-day check, I still tried to always look at my email for a better reason than just because I was succumbing to distraction. Even though this wasn’t drastic, it was something I could manage and did save me some time.
- Specific internet searches only. If I got onto the internet to look something up, I tried to make sure I stayed focused on what I was doing and did not migrate into other areas. This usually ended up in me finding better answers to my queries and finding them more quickly.
- Defaulting to a conscious activity rather than distraction. When stressed, either because my back was hurting or I felt overwhelmed with studies, I tried to meditate, make some tea, stretch, take a cold shower, or do something that would benefit me and allow me to move forward, rather than defaulting to dumb videos, random news, or emotional music.
One thing I need to avoid is regressing after I complete a monthly challenge. For example, when I finished my media fast, the first thing I did was to watch some short youtube videos. Now this would be all well and good if I was doing so for a good reason. But I wasn’t; it was pure distraction. Just because the focus is over does not mean I want to forget what I have learned. I cannot expect a miniature version of the focus to magically imprint itself on to my psychology.
I really enjoyed not getting any news for a month. I am trying to think of a good way to stay afloat of the major things that are happening in the world without wasting a lot of time or mental clarity. If any of my readers have suggestions on how to accomplish this, please post them below.
Don’t worry about staying on top of the news – I haven’t read the news at all for the last two years (for the most past). If the news is big enough, you will find out from someone eventually. Most news, while even intriguing, isn’t really necessary to know – i.e., it was interesting to know that 6ft. of snow was dumped on Buffalo NY is a day…but if you really think about it, why do I even need to know that? You miss some things – apparently whoever won the superbowl didn’t make news big enough to reach me (still don’t know) but by next year it won’t matter anyhow. WORLD year in review is a nice read. You might consider having a particular source you check every so often if you need to keep abreast of things in a particular arena (i.e. medical news). No need to check every day – news usually gets more factual and less sensational if it’s been a few days/weeks after the event (ebola in the US).