1/1/09: This morning I woke up, popped the email, and rearranged my home page to NOT show me FB or Twitter. While I was in the email, I unsubscribed from a whole slew of junk email stuff. Then I went and meditated, sitting quietly and looking out the windows as the rest of the house slept. Afterwards I did 20 minutes of yoga. All time that would normally be spent ‘catching up’ on Facebook and Twitter.

Throughout the day I found myself wandering by the computer, sitting down, and then getting back up because I really had no need to be there. I realized quickly how much of a habit it has become to spend countless minutes (hours) on these social media sites, with no clear agenda or reason for the time or connections with people there. I like the idea of making my relationships more meaningful, or at least consciously connected.

My mind was quieter as I was able to turn off the inner narrator who constantly captures the day in 140 character quips.

And, I spent a lot of time with my son, working on the gingerbread house kit that we had never quite got around to doing before today. We still have some work on it, we went for a rather complicated design!

So far, I am feeling grateful that I’ve decided to give myself this gift of time, and hopeful that the nagging pull of these sites can stay dimmed after the week is over.

1/2/09: Day two – I feel a little disconnected from the folks I’ve reconnected with on FB, but seriously, if we made it 20 years without each other, what’s a week of updates? Today I finished de-decorating, cleaned the kitchen, finished the laundry, and worked some more with DS on the gingerbread house.

I also managed to get myself out to the gym and did a run on the treadmill and a strength circuit.

And filled the car up with gas. And watched a few home improvement shows, just for fun!

And finally, I read an interview with John Mayer, who started this whole thing, and in which the interviewer seemed to take umbrage with the fact that JM is intelligent and likes to give thoughtful, detailed answers and explanations. It brought home to me again how FED UP I am with the anti-intellectualism that seems to be so prevalent in our society these days. Grrrrrrrr.

I finished out the week and was thrilled with the extra time to connect more deeply with others, but to be honest, it felt a bit strange – and reminded me of when I didn’t watch TV for several years, as friends would comment on things seen and shared on Facebook or Twitter, and give me a pitying stare when they remembered I was doing the cleanse. I’m back on, but hope to be more aware of the wasted time, and use the social media tools for true connecting with purpose. Thanks for the idea John Mayer!