Solitary Sunday #5ish

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advice, communication, social media ban, Solitary Sundays

With traveling and visits from family lately, my Solitary Sunday project has gotten a little off track. However, I’m truly committed to a productive lifestyle, and this Sunday marks the return of the official one-day-a-week social media/television/telephone hiatus.

Today, I woke up early for a run, gardened and cleaned the house, took care of a mountain of grading, and watched The Dark Knight Rises with my husband. And it’s only 5:00!

Recently, even without officially participating in Solitary Sundays, I’ve been noticing my productivity levels skyrocketing. The week before Phoenix, I finally got my workout routine figured out. Since 100 degree Florida summertime isn’t conducive to running, I began waking up early to get a 3 or 4 miler in before work. This simple change helped me with many of my health and wellness issues.

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First, I’ve been eating breakfast (a meal I typically skip) because the AM run jumpstarts my metabolism. A typical day for me includes skipping breakfast and forgetting to eat lunch only to crash at the end of the afternoon. Now, I’m eating when I need to, and it’s helped me feel so much better and, in turn, work so much harder.

The second valuable thing I’ve seen lately are increased energy levels leading to more productivity. Running in the morning makes me feel alive, awake, and alert. I get more accomplished throughout the day because I feel better. Too, I have more energy to add in yoga or weights in the afternoon.

Third, and most importantly, I’ve really worked to surround myself with other productive people. The friends I talk to the most and the people I spend my days and evenings with are committed to working hard, setting goals, and getting things done. I’ve noticed how many people (students, co-workers, friends, team members) complain, procrastinate, and make excuses. “I’d present a better speech if I had more time.” “I’d love my life so much more if I had a better job.” “I’d work harder if…” “I’d do more if…”  Productivity, health, and happiness are lifestyle choices. You can make the decision to live well. All it takes is a little willpower. Or, of course, you can continue being worthless.

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It’s been said that it takes 66 days to form a habit. That means if you focus on being productive only one day a week, it will take more than a year for that habit to stick. Can you do it all at once? Try a Facebook fast for 66 days! I’m happily more than one year Facebook-free, and not a day goes by that I say, “Man, I sure do wish I could waste my life away looking at some garbage on Facebook.” I’ve also lived without cable for three years, and I don’t miss a second of trash TV. My last night in Phoenix, I had the hotel room all to myself. I turned on the television to check out what I’d been missing. It made me nauseous to see what was on: garbage “news” programs based on entertainment gossip; garbage reality TV featuring women bullying one another; garbage reality TV glamorizing worthless lifestyles; and more commercials than content. I turned off the television after about 45 minutes and read instead. 99% of TV is unhealthy, and it has no role in the productive lifestyle I’ve chosen for myself.

 

People often marvel at how much I get done. But trust me, it’s not hard to be productive when you’ve eliminated the pointlessness from your life. So, on this 5th(ish) Solitary Sunday, I implore you to stop wasting your life away. What has Bravo TV given you? How are you learning and growing after watching the Kardashians? What has a week of sitting on the couch done to your body? What do hours a day “liking” photos on Facebook add up to? Momentarily fleeting “fun” is making you mentally and physically unhealthy. I refuse to live like that, and my anger fueled the Solitary Sunday Project. SSP may be just what you need to join me in living a more active, productive life. What could it do for you?

Solitary Sunday #1

Tags

advice, communication, social media ban, Solitary Sundays

My very first Solitary Sunday wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be!

I slipped up, of course.  I texted my childhood best friend Melissa on Sunday morning when she asked me to send her my number after getting a new phone.  I peeked at Twitter on Sunday evening.  I turned on and watched a single episode of Law & Order SVU on Netflix while making lunch.  However, as a whole, I did a pretty good job with following through with my goals for Solitary Sunday.  I give myself a 7/10.

I didn’t text my friend Chiara who, in our typical fashion, blew up my phone with texts this AM.  I usually blow her up right back.  This is the person I talk to the most throughout the day, my colleague and fellow workaholic, and my dearest Orlando friend.  She’s the first person I text in the morning and the last person I text at night.  It was difficult to ignore her texts.  I just knew they were there without even looking at my phone (which I did a great job of leaving in my purse after texting Melissa in the morning).

Funnily enough, I was able to ignore the other texts I received throughout the day.  Since the Facebook deactivation, I must admit, I’ve gotten significantly better about not checking my phone every 30 minutes.

I really related to a Harvard Business Review article I read this weekend by Peter Bregman.  Bregman writes, “The world is moving fast and it’s only getting faster. So much technology. So much information. So much to understand, to think about, to react to” (Source).  This is one of the biggest reasons why I began the Solitary Sunday project.  It isn’t healthy to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week plugged in and dealing with information overload.  While one day off might not change very much, it was certainly refreshing.

So what exactly did I do on Sunday?

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First, I cleaned my entire house.  Vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing, polishing, wiping… I deep cleaned the refrigerator for the first time since we bought the house.  This house is spotless, and it needed the TLC.  If I am able to do this good a cleaning every Sunday, I will be much happier (and my husband will be less asthmatic) living with our furry, four-legged children Sparks, Lily, and Sailor.

Second, I worked on my fitness.  With Tropical Storm Beryl looming, it rained a little, but I was able to get in a solid 4-mile run.  I need to keep building up long runs on Sunday so I can accomplish this 10K goal I’ve set for myself.

Third, I graded and re-read Resonate for the third time.  I had quite a bit of late student work to catch up on; some student questions to attend to; and, of course, some reading for the launch of Resonate as the new class textbook in July.

Bregman says, “So we try to speed up to match the pace of the action around us. We stay up until 3 am trying to answer all our emails. We twitter, we facebook, and we link-in. We scan news websites wanting to make sure we stay up to date on the latest updates. And we salivate each time we hear the beep or vibration of a new text message” (Source).  It was nice to spend my Sunday accomplishing instead of wasting time.  It was even nicer to slow down, to relax, to rest from the overstimulation that comes along with my technology-saturated life.  Bregman agrees.  He argues, “The speed with which information hurtles towards us is unavoidable (and it’s getting worse). But trying to catch it all is counterproductive. The faster the waves come, the more deliberately we need to navigate. Otherwise we’ll get tossed around like so many particles of sand, scattered to oblivion. Never before has it been so important to be grounded and intentional and to know what’s important” (Source).

So, what, exactly, is important in my life?  These are the types of questions I want to spend my Solitary Sundays answering.  My goal is to spend my time prioritizing, growing, and learning from the silence of being mostly technology-less.  I would love to go completely phone, television, and computer free on Sundays, so this might be a goal after a few months of the Solitary Sunday project… Imagine that!

And to assuage your fears: I don’t plan to spend every Solitary Sunday literally alone in my house.  This much-needed day of rest and relaxation by myself was necessary after this month of working very, very long 6-day workweeks.  Next Sunday, my goal is to do something fun and technology-free 100% outside of the house.  Perhaps it’s time for a much-needed beach day with the BFFs…

Did you participate in Solitary Sunday?  How did you do?