The good news: Instead of trolling Facebook, I’m reading Homer.
The bad news: I’m still sneaking into news feeds.
But here’s the thing: Instead of wallowing and rolling in that dirt for hours, I’m now getting in and out as fast as possible so I don’t get “caught” hanging out in there.
And as nuts as that sounds, and as nuts as it is, it’s working.
I’m getting back at least 2 or 3 hours a day to do stuff I can really control. And that feels incredible. Two to three hours a day. Think about it.
Plus, my mind doesn’t feel all polluted with garbage I can’t control. It feels clearer to work on things I can control.
(See above reference to Homer.)
My Findings So Far
1. Facebook and Instagram are not addicting for me. I can check in once a day for 10 minutes or so, and get off. No problem. I could go a few weeks without missing either.
2. My addiction is news. First, online news in the form of the Times and the Post. Then, Twitter. I am really jonesin’ for both.
At the end of this experiment I am going to fall back into the arms of both of these bad-boys, for sure. I know it.
But I think what I’m learning now, is that my problem isn’t news, it’s when I consume the news.
My peak hours of cognitive productivity are from 10 to 2, so if I give any of those hours to news reading, I’m giving my best hours away.
If that’s prime time, I definitely shouldn’t let news in there anymore. So now I know: News and coffee first thing are a no-no.
Somebody in yoga told me she reads all her news feeds at night before bed. That would be okay, except for the small matter of sleep. I would never get any if I did that.
I remember my father read the newspaper, in his chair, before dinner. But I don’t have that kind of a life. It can’t be during primetime, and it can’t be too late at night.
Something I have to work out.
In the 2 to 3 hours a day I was able to save by not reading news, I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. A-mazing.
I also read another novel, not as good, but decent, called The Yoga of Max’s Discontent by Karan Bajaj.
Now I’m sailing into The Odyssey, a new translation, and the first translation by a woman.
This feels good and right. The struggle is still real, though, I cannot lie. Proof? I bought the Wolff book. It’s a book, right??
Inspiration Location 