Last week, I wrote about how being online all the time would not make you successful. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have trouble internalizing that message. I can’t really disconnect without some level of guilt.
What if I miss something? What if there’s a huge breaking story? Or what if something happens that just makes my total social media plan irrelevant?
Social media professionals are paid because they have some level of anxiety that looks like this. But it will become more of a burden as time goes on and you will burn out.
So how do you disconnect without feeling guilty about it?
Goal-oriented disconnect
As you disconnect from the online world, write down a few goals for your time away. What’s great about this method is that every time you feel guilty, you can think back to your goals for your time and remind yourself that you are using this time well.
But doesn’t that get in the way of getting the rest you need? It can if you fill up that list of goals with more work. You can also have goals about rest and relaxation. I know it sounds like that shouldn’t go together, but I assure you they do. For example, let’s say you have a goal of reading ten pages. That is totally a goal around rest, and it gets you offline. You can even add reasons behind that goal (“to make my writing better” or “to have more topics for content”), so that you can tie it back to making you more efficient at your job or just a more balanced person. And that can help you feel far less guilty.
Disconnect in small amounts
If disconnecting over a long period of time doesn’t sound doable, that’s completely understandable. But what about small chunks of time? Is there anything that can truly derail your social media plan in ten minutes? How about twenty?
In life, we seem to have this all or nothing attitude. That stops us from doing a lot of things that could be doable if we just did it in small chunks. This is very similar. If you can’t take an hour offline during the day all at once to get head down work done, maybe you can take it in ten minute chunks throughout the day. And then next time, maybe you can do it in twenty minute chunks. And you keep working until you feel comfortable with that one hour time period.
Find something you really enjoy
To me, my biggest enemy is being bored. As soon as I’m bored, my brain starts spiraling and I think about what is going on online. But if I’m in the moment doing something I enjoy, then my mind doesn’t wander back to what’s going on online.
What makes you feel happy and fulfilled? Do that during your off-times. If something doesn’t immediately come up for you, then go on a tour of hobbies. Keep trying something new until you find something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be something trendy. It doesn’t even need to be something one of your friends do (although that can be fun). What it does need to be is something that keeps you in the moment and makes you forget everything else going on. You will soon feel that guilt melt away because you really love what you’re doing.
Just work on it a little at a time
You’re not going to be able to make the guilt go away overnight. But if you keep what you’re trying to do and why you’re trying to do it in the forefront of your mind, it will keep you going. And that’s the first step.
The next step is take bites out of the disconnect mountain you have in front of you. Maybe today you disconnect for twenty minutes. Maybe tomorrow you try a new hobby. You don’t have to cure this online addiction all at once or even stay to the same tactic. Do it a little at a time and keep trying something new until you find the right formula for you.
What tactics have you used to disconnect without guilt?