I am a small business owner. Who happens to run an internet-based company. One that provides services that relate to the interwebs 100% of the time. This is my excuse. The reason I convince myself it is OK to stare at a screen for half (or more) of my waking hours. The reason I “can’t” quit any social networks.
Judgement aside, this is not good. Not in a society is doomed, 1984 kind of way. Rather, I’m a person who gets most satisfaction out of things that are not on a screen. I feel most satisfied outdoors. I love exercise. I love adventure. I love to read. I do less of all of those because I spend hours working/surfing the web.
Truth is, I don’t need to be connected all the time. Business will go on, and if it doesn’t it is because I’ve done a bad job laying the groundwork in the first place. I spend 2x (ok 10x ) the amount of time I actually need to spend on work email. I stare at social media and get annoyed at people for posting stupid shit, then annoyed at myself for voluntarily choosing to read the aforementioned stupid shit.
So I’m taking a few week break from the web. A break from working in my business day-to-day. A cold turkey detox.-
I’ve taken a break from the web for a week or two each of the last few years, but have always done so while on a vacation. And while valuable, I’m looking to be more productive as part of this exercise not just fill my days with beach time and day-drinks.
I’m going be very intentional about how I fill my time throughout the rest of the month and have a few clear objectives:
- Spend most of my time outside. In the park around the block. Deep in the woods on my bike. Out on the water. 15,000+ steps per day.
- Read 10 books. 5 fiction. 5 Non-fiction. – Any suggestions?
- Serious training for our upcoming Black Bear Adventure Race.
- Sketch out the next 18 months of business planning. Intentionally aiming us in a direction.
- Spend 1 hour a day training my dog. He’s the best and all, but he can be a real a dick sometimes.
OK:
- Texting, phone calls, FaceTime.
- Delta App/Waze/Google Maps
- Offline photo editing & writing
- Stitcher (for podcasts)
Nope:
- Social media
- EmailOnline “news”
- Yelp & TripAdvisor
- Anything not defined above
All the other temptations have been deleted from my phone. My laptop is put away.
I’m starting off by spending a few days at The World Domination Summit in Portland surrounded by other non-conformists, and will be logged off once I hit the ground there until labor day. In the mean time, shoot me a text, give me a call, or swing by in real life and say hello. I’ll post a recap once I’ve reconnected.
Or maybe I’ll build a cabin in the woods, become a survivalist and disconnect forever. Who knows….
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