Tuesday, July 2, 2019

When Social Media takes control of Your Life


Yeah Social Media…love it or hate it but it is everywhere.  Despite our best intentions, we can’t seem to live without it.  Social Media enables procrastinators to…well, procrastinate.  Okay, let’s rephrase that.  Social Media enables me to procrastinate.  And how do I know this?  Well…
Holed up in Havana, Cuba, without any WIFI, I am actually writing a blog post.  Today I’ve written TWO book reviews, a blog post for my cindyvinetravels.com blog and this blog post.  That’s more than I achieve in an average weekend!
It’s not that I have writer’s block.
It’s not that I don’t have a myriad of things to write about.
It’s not that I don’t have the time.
It’s that…I sort of get distracted.  I have to check my Twitter for any notifications and status updates of those in the Writing Community I belong to.  And then I have to check Facebook to see if anybody commented on my post, anybody posted something exciting that I want to comment on, anybody in either one of my Youtube FB groups, or FB writing groups or one of the Travel FB groups I belong to posted anything interesting, or asked a question I can answer.  Then I have to go on Youtube to watch the news and any new videos uploaded from my subscriptions.  In between I might make myself a coffee, or breakfast or lunch and before I know it, it’s dinner and I am WTF where did the day go?
I think I have a problem.
There is no point in having creative genes if social media stops you from wearing them.  (That was a pun!)
I love to write so why the hell don’t I do more of it?  What about the novel and cookbook I have to finish?  Okay, long story cut short.  I was nearly finished with Diary of a Dancer and the cookbook.  Both unfinished manuscripts were on my laptop that was stolen out of the principal’s office while I was doing a school visit.  True story.  To start from the beginning again on both projects that were close to completion has sort of demotivated me.  I did write The Freedom Club last year, I managed to break away from social media to do that!  However, I couldn’t break away enough to do marketing.  Yep, marketing books, t-shirts, it’s a real schlep and I’ll eagerly jump onto social media to avoid doing it.
I admit it.  Social media has control of my life.  Oh, did I forget to mention Instagram?  I did, didn’t I? And Pinterest.  I am doomed.
So, what am I going to do about it?  I guess that is the logical question.
I think I need to structure my weekends and my life a little more.  I need to block time to do my social media things, and make sure that it doesn’t encroach on my writing time.  I need to, shall I say it, become more disciplined.
I’m not going to remove social media from my life.  That would just be counter-productive.  I do need it for my marketing, and I do need to be a part of the different communities I belong to.  But, I need to restrict my access to certain times so that I can still create and not stagnate.
I can’t let it dictate how I spend my day.
And I can’t let it be the reason that I don’t have time to write.
I have the time, I just need to set little boundaries for my social media time.
Thank you Havana for no WIFI! (And I’m not being sarcastic!)
I can do this!
I will do this!
I will take back my life!
Cindy Vine is a South African author and teacher currently living in Norway.  She is the author of numerous novels including Not Telling, Defective, Hush Baby, CU@8 and The Freedom Club.  All her books are available on Amazon.com in both ebook and paperback format.  The Freedom Club is available in Spanish and Portuguese.  You can find out about her novels http://cindyvine.com
For her travel blog http://cindyvinetravels.com
For her musings http://cindy-vine.blogspot.com
Follow Cindy on Facebook https://facebook.com/cindyvinefanpage
Follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @cindyvine
And, if you enjoy travel and travel videos, subscribe to her Youtube Channel http://www.youtube.com/c/CindyVine