Facebook “Diet” Results

Facebook “Diet” Results

 

A couple weeks ago, I decided to severely limit my exposure to Facebook, and the results have been amazing. so I want to share them with you.

 

Now, just for starters, you need to know that I’ve never ever spent hours on Facebook at any one time, or even during an entire day, so I’m far from addicted to it.

 

Before my recent Facebook “diet,” I probably spent, on average thirty minutes a day (if that) on the platform before I decided to cut it back even further, to about 10-15 minutes a day (unless, of course, I have a big announcement to make and need to let a lot of Facebook groups know about it, which hasn’t happened yet during this two-week “diet” period).

 

My mood and attitude have recovered enormously 

 

Instead of running across (and feeling compelled to share) every last, fury-inducing update on the most foul Charlatan/Predator in Chief ever, I share only his and his minions’ “greatest hits”–the news that should infuriate and activate every last cell in the human body to do whatever it takes to get him (and them!) out of office as soon as possible, whether that’s declaring him incompetent or a traitor, or impeachment, or the next election.  I can trace my chronic near-depression to the moment he was elected. I knew it was going to be bad, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad…that his minions in Congress and elsewhere would support his racism, sexism, misogyny, xenophobia and bigotry in every way possible legislatively and extra-legislatively.

 

I’ve gone out and had some extra, hours-long fun during the week when the crowds are less daunting. I’ve gone to Westport for the day and eaten salt water taffy: I’ve gone to a couple movies that raised my spirits. I’ve watched some stuff on PRIME that have tickled me. Good Omens is particularly tickle-some and thought-provoking. (I’m quite sure that any far right LEFT BEHIND-indoctrinated evangelical who truly believes in a God-directed Armageddon will have an aneurysm watching it.) I hope there’s a second season in the making!  It’s an absolute hoot to watch. There is some funny, funny stuff in there!  (For the uninitiated, Good Omens is about an angel and a demon teaming up to prevent the powers and principalities, both ostensibly good and evil, from destroying the world.)

 

I’ve been playing pickle ball and wally ball two hours at a stretch four days a week, which is excellent full-body, aerobic exercise that is 100% enjoyable.

 

I’ve landed three new clients who like what I’ve done for them; they say I’ll be doing more for them. If I can get a wee bit busier as a copy, content and/or feature writer and editor, I could probably happily give up Facebook entirely. (I visit Facebook mainly when boredom sets in, to take a peek around the world to see if I’m missing anything that I should be on top of.)

 

I also peek randomly into my friends’ pages to see what they’re up to, which is frequently fun or which requires a response of some sort when they’re going through tough times or celebrating something wonderful, which is really what Facebook was created for. (But I frequently get waylaid from doing this because there’s so much distressing news on Facebook these days that I tend to immediately divert and fume instead…because, as we all know, “if it bleeds, it leads” in the news business, unless it’s television series- or celebrity-centered fluff pieces that don’t interest me in the least.)

 

In short, going on a Facebook diet has resulted in a daily life filled with what makes life worth truly living (instead of merely observing): exercise–pickle ball and wally ball four days/eight hours every week; I’ve lost 20 pounds as a result in just under eight months), more time outdoors in exciting locales (including my own back yard where my goats and chickens reign supreme), additional writing work that energizes me,hanging with good friends, and a sense that I can create a life that (for as long as it last) satisfies and challenges me in the ways that I still want to be challenged.

 

You might want to give it a try.