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Take A Break From Social Media!

20 August 2012

I’m not here! I’m somewhere else! Well, what I mean is that my thumbs are having a rest from social media and are currently enjoying a holiday from thumb-typing, away from Twitter and Facebook and all the other forms of instant 24-hour communication. They’ve been away from blogging too for a few weeks, so this is their first little bit of typing exercise for a while!

And they’ve really loved having a break – they’re happy thumbs!

I’ve used the time away to relax and to edit my latest book, called Bouncing Back …which is published at the end of August. It’s my fifth book and a milestone for me because when I started writing I was told firmly that you can really call yourself a writer once you have five books in print!

If you cut me in half (please don’t though) it says ‘writer’ all the way down the middle and so I find it easy to be absorbed in books and tweets. Social media is great. It’s a route to market, a way to find friends, a provider of fun conversations and a platform for people to achieve ambitions and put themselves out into the world. And it can intrude on family time, be a nagging distraction and soak up time when you have to concentrate on meeting work deadlines.

If we never take a break, then we risk becoming stale and getting caught in repetitive conversations, or forgetting that there is life beyond social media apps.

So, give your thumbs some time off this Summer and take a break for a few days from social media platforms. Instead of tweeting, my thumbs have been building sand castles on the beach and sunbathing. Life has felt simpler and less distracting too!

Breaks are good, so when are you having yours?

PS. My first book is being re-printed now, which is great news! If you know someone who has been (or is being) bullied at work then check out the book; My Boss is a Bastard. Be warned though, it’s full of swearing. I wrote it 10 years ago and am very chuffed to see it being reprinted! (On no account should you buy 200 copies from Amazon and leave them in your manager’s office…haha!)