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
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