Generally, I'm unapologetically attached to my phone and laptop all day long. Today's assignment was not easy, and to be honest, not really that fun. It was kind of like going to the gym after a long hiatus. You know it's good for you, but it's more "fake it 'til you make it" that first time. But as you step away from the tech (or put one foot in front of the other on the treadmill), you can see that there are long-term benefits in a regular practice.
I imagined the evening of my media fast would be spent listening to feel-good music, cooking, and thinking, but an inkling of the flu and my brother's NBA 2K13 sesh derailed my plans. Instead, I spent the time in my bedroom, reading cookbooks and hanging out with these two furballs. Not bad, but I really would've liked to catch up on some Downton Abbey. Going to bed early was probably good for my health, so by 10, it was lights out for me.
The next morning, I expected to be way behind, social media-wise. In reality, I had a bunch more emails to delete, but it took me all of 5 minutes to catch up on anything I "missed". Though my evening wasn't the zen, lifechanging event I imagined, I think a monthly media fast is something that might be good for my sanity.
How did your media fast go?
JANUARY CURE LINKS:
• Day 11: Try a Media Fast
(Image: Tara Bellucci)
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Marisa and Peter's Playfully Eclectic Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
I am really excited for this. It's something I always mean to do but I get pulled in by last night's episode of the Colbert Report and then it's all over.
I can't make any promises about putting my cell phone away. I don't think my boyfriend would really appreciate me ignoring all of his texts!
Ha! It's good to let loved ones know ahead of time as to not induce panic or search parties :)
social media (especially tumblr) is the worst for me. once i get sucked in, i can't stop refreshing for fear of missing something. but once i'm pulled away from it (and forget about it), i'm much less worried about missing every little update and am more relaxed, to boot. then social media becomes fun again, instead of a weird, self-imposed requirement. if that even makes sense!
strawberryjam - that totally makes sense. why are we so sucked in to social media? why do we think that something earth shattering is going to happen the second that we aren't checking facebook? i'm not sure. but i know that i waste too much time on it!
Those are some seriously contented Kitties! I think they shouls set the tone for a tech fasts - just sit and purrrrrr.
i am on day 16 of a complete texting fast for Jan! it was somewhat hard at first but i absolutely love being phone free! the most amazing realization was not how much i texted but how much i checked my phone to see if i got a text. that became such a mindless habit & now that i'm not texting for the entire month of Jan i've become so aware of how annoying my own behavior was just as much as those around me. i did, as tarabelllucci mentioned, email friends & relatives in advance so they would know to call me. i also blogged it for anyone else that i missed:
if you can, try it for just a week & learn how liberating it is to NOT be tied down to the phone!
oops! messed up the hyperlink above. here it is in much simpler form:
http://blondemafia.blogspot.com/2013/01/text-perimenting.html
Really glad to be "forced" to try this out tonight as I have been meaning to incorporate this into my week for a long time! I'm sure it will feel strange at first, but it will be nice to get back to the way things were before all my gadgets, if only for an evening. Will probably make much more progress on my book and go to sleep earlier.
All I can say about this post is ... KITTEHS!
QUOTE: Today's assignment was not easy.......i imagined the evening of my media fast would be spent.....
Been enjoying the liveblogging. However, how is it this is today's assignment, yet this was posted at 2:30 pm? Plus, I'm on the east coast & it's only 8:50 pm here as I type.
Ack! hit submit too soon....are you on another continent? for some reason I had it in my head your were here in the US. This was NOT meant to be a snarky comment...just curious:)
If I had adorable, cozy kittens like that to cuddle with, I'd do a mediafast every night.
What lovely smug cats.
That's pretty much the expression one of my cats had this morning while watching me leave the house when it was -4 degrees outside.
Dante & Virgil thank you all for your kind words :p
Hey discerning! Nope, I'm in Boston, I'm just doing the Cure a few days ahead of everyone else so I have time to write, photograph, and prep posts about it for all of you!