The benefits of switching off the internet

I did it!  I switched off all internet for 5 days, and did not comment or post for another 3.
 
So how was it?
 
It was so incredibly easy.  I know, I was surprised too.  I had all this quiet.  Here are the top 9 things I discovered.

1. The internet is incredibly noisy.  You have all the voices of the people who are writing in your head.  And you have snippets of all these voices and ideas.  This sometimes does not leave enough room for you own inner voice.
2. Being away from all these voices made it even easier to unsubscribe, unfollow and turn off notifications when I switched back on.
3. Social media is work, at least for me.  When I am on holidays I don’t feel a need to be on it. It’s work I tend to enjoy, but it can suck up most of my day and drain my creativity if not managed properly.
4. When I switched back on, I was aware of a small part of me that switched back on too – and it was the worry about people judging what I put out there on social media, and the expectation on myself to ‘produce and perform’.  Interesting to observe.
5. It was so much easier to be calm without the nagging pull of social media.  Once again, interesting to observe.
6. Going somewhere to stay with no wifi, and not having any data, is a really easy way to jump-start the detox.
7. Enlisting a moderator to take care of my group was essential for my piece of mind.  And I’m super pleased they are staying on to help.
8. It was important to set up my work email and facebook pages so that people knew when I was going to return.  This reduced all pressure associated with people in a crisis trying to contact me.  I had of course, let everyone I could know what I was doing.
9. I need more breaks!!