As promised, here is a follow-up with information about what a friend and I noticed about our experiment of Media-free Mondays. We decided to do this because we were each bemoaning our lack of results in what we said we wanted to do - “somehow the day just got away from me and I didn’t get X done.” And we realized we were easily getting lost in scrolling social media or reading this article, which led to that article, which led to another article, which led to our time getting lost going down rabbit-holes. Interesting rabbit holes, but rabbit holes nonetheless.

Enough already, we decided. We each chose our version of what “media-free” meant to us, and started out the next day, Monday, being “media-free.”

Week One – After our first Monday, I noticed how much more time I had to do things and actually heard myself say “OK, what do I want to do next?” I didn’t feel rushed. I even wondered how I was going to fill up the time left in the day before my evening routine kicked in. My friend realized that she was using her media behavior to numb herself, so she didn’t have to worry about all the possibilities that were before her and trying to choose the best of everything.

Week Two - We talked in the evening of the second Monday. I noticed that my discipline of limiting my extra time exploring any article that interested me had spilled over into subsequent days. Alas, the further I moved from Monday, the more lax I became about going ahead and reading things that caught my eye. My friend started asking herself – “What would my future self want me to be doing right now instead of this?” It gave her a different perspective on her behavior.

Week Three – In our conversation this week, I noticed that my definition of “media” is expanding. Admittedly not as far as watching a couple of hours of Netflix in the evening as my brain winds down, but more in reading interesting newsletters that I get from time to time that are not the dailies that I look at to help me keep up with what’s happening in the world. My friend is noticing that she is more conscious of the “why” behind her actions – both why she’s watching nature/pet reels/videos and why she wants to stop doing that and do other things that will move her toward her best life in definite ways. We’re both interested in living our own lives, not someone else’s.

Week Four – This week I notice that I’m more and more willing to let Media-free Monday become Media-free Tuesday and Wednesday and ... I may even choose a second weekly Media-free day. I find them very freeing and am getting more and more comfortable about being responsible for my time. My friend is getting better at asking herself “Do you want to watch a video or actually do something?” We’ve both noticed that real life happens when you’re NOT on your phone. Imagine that! ;>)

Try a media free day for yourself and notice what happens.

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