Challenge: Shut It Off

by
12 Apr 20115 comments
Power SwitchSpring is here, and it's time to put down the laptop and go outside. Here in Chicago, spring means something, and yet every year I still find myself holed up in the home office as if it was -10° outside. The culprit? That's right – the internet. So, I'm going to shut off the distractions for 30 days – no social media, an email-free zone every day, real focus on real projects, and some fresh air – and I want you to do it with me.

I can't live without Facebook!

Yes, you can. Facebook was founded (roughly) in 2004 and Twitter around 2006. Even if you've been using those sites the entire time they've existed, anyone over 7 years old has experienced life without both of them. Somehow, you survived, and you'll survive when they're gone (and, yes, they will be gone in our lifetimes).

I'm not saying every moment on social media is a waste – social media has been a huge boon to my day job, and it's great for staying in touch with people. For every 10 minutes of value, though, there's 45 minutes of memes, Farmville, LOLcats, mash-ups, angry ranting, and Rebecca Black videos. You're stalling, and you know it.

Phase 1 – Total shut-off.

This 30-day challenge is in 4 phases – yeah, I'm not messing around this time. Phase 1 is the tough part. Shut off social media entirely. No Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, FourSquare, Quora, LiveJournal, whatever. If someone directly contacts you and it would be rude not to reply, you can reply, and that's it. A Mafia Wars gift request is not direct contact.

Phase 2 – Email-free zone.

Sorry, there's more. I want you to take at least one 30-minute break from email. Sleeping doesn't count. How many times do you catch yourself watching TV, working on a project, and checking email? In 2011, I don't think I could last a month with no email, honestly, but none of us need to check it every 5 minutes. So, pick a 30-minute block when you'd otherwise be tempted to check your messages, and just don't do it. Sit on your hands if you have to.

Phase 3 – Pick a project.

Now that you've freed up all this time, what are you going to do? Pick a project – something you've been putting off, in the true 30GO30 spirit, and give it 30 minutes/day. See what you can get done in 900 minutes.

Phase 4 – Enjoy spring!

This is the easy part. Go outside and enjoy the spring. The walk to the bus stop doesn't count. Get some sun at lunch, catch up on some reading under a tree, or if you have to, take your laptop outside for a while (just stay off of Facebook).

The 30 days starts Sunday.

I'm going to put an official start date on this one: Sunday, April 17th. I'll give you a few days to prepare. Clean out your inbox, finish your rants about the government shutdown, hire someone to water your Farmville crops, figure out how you're going to spend that 30 days, and then get to work. I'll be checking in every Friday with a status update.

Oh, and my 30-day project is going to be 30GO30's first (free) e-book, tentatively titled "The 30-day Budget". I expect it to take more than 30 days but am shooting to finish in Q2.

12 Apr – Andrew David Baron

There is no way I could do this as I do interactive artwork during the week and weekends via Social Media. There have been Sundays where I threw my iPhone into the closet on vibrate and then ran out of the apartment to do sometihng, but those days are far and few between. I normally do not CHECK my accounts. I'm constantly publishing to my accounts. Does this still count? Just curious.

12 Apr – Dr. Pete

@Andrew - I certainly know people for whom social media is their primary occupation, so clearly it's not feasible if you want to keep your day job. I'd suggest picking an activity on social media that you know is (1) useless, and (2) a decent-sized time suck, and cut that off for 30 days. It might not even be social media. Maybe you play Angry Birds too much. It's really all about taking a break from bad habits and making room for something positive.

12 Apr – MikeTek

Godspeed, sir.

I've been catching the effects of "multi-tasking" on my productivity more frequently. I'm thinking that's overload.

I actually do get outdoors in the warm seasons, and that's starting with a road trip this coming week. I'll be sharing odd or inspiring findings along the way via Facebook/Twitter, if they're really good. Otherwise, who needs the social web?

The trouble is when you don't see new stuff around you every day. Browsing the web is a mind trick you play on yourself - satisfies the explorer.

The simplest solution: make appointments to be outdoors. Golf, running with a friend, archery, fishing, whatever.

I'll be interested to hear how your experiment goes - next month when you're talking to us again (jerk).

12 Apr – Dr. Pete

@Mike - I definitely think the work-from-home lifestyle has some unique hazards, and forgetting to leave the house is one of them. As you said - it's not that social media is inherently bad; it's that I know I get into bad patterns with it. I'd go as far as to say I'm addicted to it, and sometimes I have to quit cold turkey for a while.

15 Apr – Owais

Good luck with your 30-day project. I hope you get some control over yourself :)