Kickstart The Year - Start having the year you want right now!

Time Management Ninja +Craig Jarrow

This program - Kickstart The Year - has helped me to whip myself into shape. This next exercise in particular has precipitated a HUGE change - info to follow.

I worked on this chapter and was astounded by the amount of time in a day that I was giving to either email or Facebook. Stupid Facebook! I now have taken steps to quit handing over my time, my focus and ultimately my productivity ( $$ MONEY $$) to Facebook & Email.

The challenge in this exercise is to check email (when I say "email" throughout this entry, I'll be including Facebook in there) only three times.  Also, turn the email OFF on my cell phone. Then, turn OFF the notifications for email/FB. This was terrifying at first!! The urge to peek is massive. I feel a bit like a junkie!

I actually uninstalled my email app on my phone weeks ago. But for an upcoming personal project A RADICAL SABBATICAL -  THE DIGITAL DIET, I'll be uninstalling Facebook on my phone and installing FB Blocker software on my lap top and work computers for thirty days. I am slightly panicked about being so out of touch for so long but I am doing this as a gift to myself & my family. I can't even tell you the amount of time I spend checking my personal FB, my fan page, my gmail, my work email, the farm email... it's really kind of ridiculous! I will still check email twice a day on the days I'm in the studio only but that's it. Also, I'm imposing this diet on the rest of the family. We will all be putting our electronics (personal gaming systems, cell phones, iPods, etc) under lock & key. They will be released only for legitimate reasons. We currently do not have cable TV and that has been such a blessing. I can't wait to see how this digital diet affects us.

So starting August 1, the best way to reach me is the old fashioned way. On the phone. Facebook will be blocked and my cell phone will have no social media capability. Am I worried? Maybe a little. We have lots of social stuff going on that month  but I am confident that we will manage despite being mostly unplugged.


I want to know, could you do it? Are you willing to go on a RADICAL SABBATICAL - DIGITAL DIET along with me and my family? There's nothing to be scared of, except that maybe you'll like it!!

**disclaimer - I will continue to blog throughout this time and possibly have the occasional Tweet go out but those are all either automated or scheduled. I will NOT be interacting in those media. Wish me luck!!