JANUARY UPDATE
I'm so glad I decided to start using my head again as I've loved getting back into learning. I've made a conscious effort each day to set aside at least an hour - and it always turned into more - to either read obsessively online (I'm putting my newspaper subscriptions to good use) or finally read my remaining library books. More often than not this month I've been found in a cosy corner in a local coffee shop, spending the early morning making colour-coded notes from a film textbook or flicking through article after article on the likes of the New York Times or The Hollywood Reporter websites. As such, my knowledge of film theory, feminism, US politics and awards season statistics has improved greatly. I haven't had time to do any courses as I previously hoped I would, but I don't mind as I've read more than I thought I would and learnt an awful lot in the process!
I feel much more confident in voicing my opinion now too as I have a much broader and in depth base of knowledge than I had before. As an introvert I've always found it extremely difficult to speak up when I have something to say, and university taught me that unless I could back up my opinion with no end of facts, figures and sources then I had no right to speak at all. I've been working hard on dispelling this over the last few years, and while I've been pretty successful thus far I think that this month has given me the final push that I needed. All in all, I'd say it'd been pretty successful. I'd like to carry on with this over the next month too as I don't think learning something new everyday is such a bad thing at all.
(gold stars - reading / silver dots - film / green dots - saving money / green stars - workouts / silver stars - brain-training / blue dots - learning)
This learning challenge has forced me to be more organised, particularly with my time, and as a result I've managed to stay super busy all month and continue with many of the challenges I've been setting myself. I've read a couple of books; watched every film I set out to in January and more; did a crossword every day in an effort to keep up my brain-training; saved more money than I thought I could; and upped my workouts each week. Not bad at all!
FEBRUARY PLANS
Towards the end of January I began to loosely monitor the time I spent absentmindedly scrolling on my phone, and quite frankly it alarmed me. I've felt my mental health slipping slightly recently, and upon reflection I'd put it down to the onslaught of alarming news filtering across the Atlantic each and every day and my developing obsession with social media. Nothing knocks my confidence quite like a never-ending feed of heavily edited Instagram posts and inane celebrity gossip, and I seem to have been seeing and reading these topics in droves recently. Also, while I've developed a new interest in politics over the last year, I think that soaking up anything and everything I could get my hands on hasn't exactly had a completely positive effect on my head when articles and essays are now overwhelmingly negative and almost catastrophic in tone. I'm enormously conflicted with my stance towards reading, learning and current affairs so much at the moment, and as I sort my head out I think it's best to take a step back.
For February, I will be limiting my social media usage as I think it's time to break my habit of checking my accounts as soon as I wake up, continually throughout the day and then just before I go to sleep. I could do with a break from pictures of avocado toast on marble surfaces, and news of more ridiculous decisions from the new US President or updates on Brexit literally as they happen. I watch the news in the morning, midday and evening any way, listen to weekly podcasts with news sections and actually speak to the people I care about so I think that'll be more than enough. I shouldn't have a fear of missing anything vital both in world news and from people I know, instead I'll just have stopped scrolling through the likes of Twitter and Instagram without realising I'm doing it and wasting time and energy in the process. I think stepping away from the epicentre of news and gaining some perspective is the right plan of action for me at the moment. I want to reconnect with the basics and ignite my imagination through books, films and conversation again, not via endless links and anonymous, filtered photographs.
So, 30 days of limited social media...go!
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