Hello from California! It has been a few days since I have posted on my blog and I did a little experiment to see how it worked. I decided to take a digital break from blogging while I was home visiting my family out in California. W
as I still on social media? The answer is yes, but it was more focused on personal correspondence, pictures, and catching up with friends. And of course, spending time with my Dad’s puppy, Ronnie. What I did was take a step away from my online presence a little bit – from social media platforms to even this blog. I wanted to see what I was able to take away from the experience.
This is not the first time I have done this – had this happen to me last year when I was in Dalian – but that was due to the fact most of the platforms and sites I use here are banned over there. So, in this case, I was in control of the situation.
One of the things my fellow professors and friends will say is while we are technically done with school, there is always “work” to be done. This is absolutely true. I have been out of school at UofL now for about three weeks, but my schedule has been full with deadlines, obligations for team members, and preparing for upcoming travels and projects. My summer is busy, but not as busy as last year’s! So, that is one reason why I decided to take a digital break.
Yes, that does sound weird coming from someone who studies, teaches, and practices social media for a living. However, I think it is necessary to do this at some point in the year and it will pay off for you in the long run both personally and professionally. So, how do you “take a digital break” when you are a social media professor? Here are some things I have taken away from the digital break experience:
- Take the break gradually: I realized that if I went cold turkey and did not do anything online, that wouldn’t be the best for me. I decided the times where I felt I needed to be on to respond to those tasks that needed addressing due to pressing deadlines and other obligations, and then put off the rest till the next day.
- Designate a schedule for you in terms of how much time you are online: Like classes and exercise routines, everything has a schedule and time assigned to it. I did this when it came to being online. It got to the point where I was way more efficient with my time as a result.
- View digital break as an opportunity to do other things for your work: I found that taking a break was really beneficial for coming up with new ideas for research and teaching. I think this is the case for a lot of things – whether you are training as an athlete or even working as a professor, you do need breaks. However, you don’t want a break to turn into a year long one.
- Look for other outlets for inspiration: A lot of ideas come to me personally when I am working out – and this is still true to me today when it comes to research. However, playing with Ronnie as well as going on our morning walks really did help me come up with some cool ideas I can use next year in my classes. These activities don’t take too much time and are enjoyable – plus, you never know what ideas may arise for you.
- Your online presence will always be there: Life happens and it’s about the time you spend both online and offline that really matters. However, being on social media all the time is great, but there is a time where you want to put away the laptop, turn off your phone, store your Google Glass – and enjoy life offline as well. It’s all about having a strong balance. 🙂
Overall, it was good to take a bit of a break to enjoy my time with my family and home out in California. It’s going to be a pretty busy summer with research, presentations, international travel, and more adventures! Bring it on! 🙂
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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