Block social media to work
I have always found myself drawn to social media. It is a bad addiction, and it gets worse with time. I know it. I do my best to pull myself away, but I am always drawn back to it. Why? My life is here in TN with my family, not on social media. Yes, my family and friends are on there, but they can do without me for a while. So why am I so drawn to it? Why is anyone drawn to it? Does anyone know?
Thankfully, there are apps on the phone to help block out social media. I am not on Instagram or eBay or Pinterest all the time, thankfully. But my two big pulls are Facebook and Twitter, Facebook more so.
Yes, as an author I have to show face on my social media, but there are times I need to block it. Everyone should to unwind, be with your family, and not be stuck on your phone with life passing you by.
When I want to get away from social media, I use the phone app called Stay Focused. I paid a low amount for one time, but I can’t remember as I have had it for a while now. It has its cons, which is having to go into the settings, turn it off, and turn it back on to make sure it works all the time. It asks that quite a lot when you open the app to add an app to be blocked or to unblock an app. But it does its job, and that is why I keep it.
I tried a few other apps, but the others were more expensive and didn’t work as well as promised in the descriptions of the apps. So always do your research. A fellow author actually recommended me this app, Stay Focused, during an online conference. Like I said, there is that one huge con, but other than that it works great and you can add as many apps as you need blocked. You can set-up times for the blocking to happen, or like myself, block it all day and night.
Block and be Happy
When I block the apps, I am much happier. I can do other things, get more chores like laundry done since my phone isn’t stuck in my hand. But if it is in my hand, it is because I am reading, taking pictures of my family and surroundings, watching a movie or TV show on Tubi, or checking emails. Sometimes I am playing a game I found online that I actually enjoy, but once the apps are blocked, my phone isn’t in my hand. I have writing time, coloring time, playing time, and exploring time with my girls. I can enjoy movie nights, diamond art nights, reading nights, and date nights with my husband more. I can also do more for myself, more self-care for myself when my phone isn’t attached to my hand. Coloring, baths, reading, writing, of course, playing computer games, and hanging out with my chickens, ducks, and guinea fowls.
NaNoWriMo
November is a busy time for myself and other writers because of NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. So an app to block out social media is an enormous help. With Facebook, or other social media like it, I lose my way with my writing. I am thankful for the app, but I wish I could find a better one that doesn’t need me to reinstate it almost every other week. I will have to do some more research on other apps, but it helps for me to stay on track and to write. And that is what I need during NaNoWriMo.
I also need it for before and after for when I need to write blogs, books for my two freelance jobs, and my own books.
Social Media shouldn’t be our lives, so why not block it out for a while? Not forever, but enough to get back to your life and your family. Yes, social media is important to an extent, but it shouldn’t be THAT important.
Check out blocking apps and get back to life without social media running it.
If you’re a writer, block social media, and get back to writing.
