Guess what I just did? I took an afternoon nap. Yup, a mid-week afternoon nap! And I don’t feel guilty about it! I have a few e-mails to attend to and a few campaigns to plan – but I felt tired and so I sleep.
A little while ago I had a social melt down. I just stopped communicating.
WHATTT???? Says the devil on my shoulder. You were communication 24/7? Whatsapp, Facebook Chat, sms, bbm, e-mail, personal Facebook page, Facebook Fan Page, blogging, telephone calls, gmail chat, twitter and skype. My gosh you rocked at being social.
*sigh* The angel on the other shoulder shakes her head. That’s 12 different ways to communicate,( and there are more), plus, 90% of those conversations were with people you don’t even know.Which means, my Blackberry was infront of my face 24/7 , talking to strangers, when the people in my immediate circle were getting no face time.
I was on a fast train to social failure! The scary thing is. I’ve met so many girls at launches and events that say: “Do you also get into trouble with your boyfriend/husband because you’re “addicted” to your blackberry.
Um ya! I’ve had many a stealth mode moment, reaching for the Blackberry at 2am, as the little red light illuminates the room. Stretching my fingers as to not stir the bed and wake my husband for this earth shattering news! Nope, false alarm, just a “retweet’ .
Now I’m a blogger, so don’t get me wrong. These are all fantastic tools to market and communicate with. It’s just that smart phones haven’t been around all that long in the bigger picture and I was so focused on how “smart” it was making me, how “connected” I was, when looking back, my Blackberry, (which I could have been the best sales person for), was actually killing my productivity. In stead of focusing at the task in hand, there I was in the middle of Cavendish Square, spell checking an e-mail as to respond in 30 seconds flat. Becoming a slave to my clients, let alone cell phone. And there comes in another e-mail, stop, read, reply!
Twitter I find really valuable in sharing cool finds, sales etc with my followers – but have you thought about how much time we waste trying to show the world what we’re up to – taking that perfect pic, thinking of the perfect words to add, instead of just enjoying the moment?
So anyway, I had to de-clutter and make a few changes!
* I now drink coffee on my stoep in the mornings instead of plonking myself at my computer, eye’s still full of sleep. I have me time first.
* I have taken e-mails off my phone. I get Cavendish done in record time and nobody dies when I don’t respond IMMEDIATELY
* I don’t say yes to everything (you’re not going to catch me at every social event, launch, It Party etc)
* I don’t work after 5 (I’m cheating today)
* I don’t work weekends
* My phone stays in my handbag when seeing friends
* At night my phone lives in the office and I don’t take it to bed
* I do something nice every day – like seeing a friend for coffee/read/have an afternoon nap/ find a new recipe etc…
* I do one task at a time – Gone are the days of a millions tabs being opened – clicking around aimlessly.
AND WOW – do I feel free! Strangely enough, I was SO busy, work, work, work and my blog stats where kind of just hanging there, stagnating. Now I’m working less and they are soaring. Am I working smarter? I’ve been more social in the last 2 weeks, seeing friends, family, cooking with my husband etc.. than I have in ages! There was always just too much work to do. I was filling my day with unnecessary extra stuff! Because everyone is busy and you’re not successful if you’re not busy?? Rubbish! I haven’t felt this successful ever!
Some of you may have had this balance all the time . . . and some of you might be like, pffft, that was obvious. But for those of you going to bed at the witching hour, take a look back on your day! There is so much time to be saved and ENJOYED! Jump off the fast train and have a coffee at the next station xx
P.S for an inspirational read – See Think Simple Now.
