Social media detox

In a recent workshop in Shanghai we were exploring the different ways of facilitating a more creative mindset. The theory being that a creative mindset would enable us to identify even more opportunities and options for "what next". 

Doing something different and getting out of the normal routine, whether for meetings, life more generally or these type of brainstorming sessions was high on the list.

After returning from Shanghai I had a few days at work and then, with friends arriving, committed to have a break from social media. The aim being to take time to just be in the now, and see what ideas came to mind. 

In the past I've taken the odd weekend off social media, and didn't find longer holidays that much of a problem either. These weekends might consist of use of the phone solely for phone calls and texts, with iPad turned off and left in the office. With emails happily left unopened for the duration.

Wow - how times have changed, and how easily my phone and iPad have come to provide a crutch for day to day living. A crutch that it seems has stopped me from thinking - never mind thinking creatively. 

Here's what I discovered: 

• Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn: these were easy - I just deleted the apps from my phone and iPad and left them alone. Ignoring the desire to share a picture of my friends and I on FB, and knowing it would wait till the weekend.
• Emails: on one account I was able to leave an out of office. On the other the problem (or was it an excuse) was I was waiting for 4 or 5 replies to emails. So I decided to go email free for the weekend and just check in with emails via iPad at the end of each day. Not engaging with any others than those I'd been waiting for and that impacted my plans over the next 10 days.
• News: the News app, along with social media and emails, has been the one major area of time lost on the phone/iPad. So I intended to restrict its use - ether watching TV news or listening to radio news. This intention was harder to keep to. 
• Others apps: I had hoped to be able to leave my iPhone alone, and where possible I did, but hadn't realised how I had allowed it to act as a crutch for every day living for things such as:

• Tide times for the local beach
• Google maps for location of places we were visiting
• Weather forecast
• Websites for opening times
• Twitter for Traffic Scotland updates - always useful for the A9
• Amazon prime video - I've not watched a DVD for ages
• MIT Edx - for Ulab MOOC
• FMTV - source of health and wellbeing videos
• YouTube - Ted talks, music videos (I'm mesmerised by Christine and the queens every time I venture on)
• Amazon - say no more 
• Recipes 
• Sainsburys grocery shopping 
• Kindle for reading
• and so on

I've only been back on line a day and so far have used my phone/iPad much less than I had been prior to the break. If that continues then I will be able to say the detox was successful.

Time away from social media has given me more time to read and do things that I've missed - we'll have to see if that's just because I was on holiday?

What do you need a detox from? and when will you take it?


Alison Smith
Inspiring change inside and out - in procurement and those (not so) soft skills

Professional Magazines - in Pending or to Action?

There was a time in the past when the professional magazines (Speaker, Supply Management etc) would drop through the letter box and would magically make there way to the To Read pile. The problem with that, of course, was it never got read. 3, 4, ok perhaps, 7 years later I'd decide to have a tidy up and they'd end up in the bin. The intention to read them was always there but it never quite happened.

These days with the support of Social Media it seems to be easier - perhaps because it's now more than just words on a page. People, and what they have written, become alive via blogs, videos and tweets. I can ask qualifying questions and I can get replies.

Take for example last month's National Speakers Association (NSA) Speaker Magazine:

• I followed all the speakers who are on twitter who will be speaking at the forthcoming NSA Convention - I wont be there but perhaps their tweets will share some of the same hints and tips.
• I will also be following the convention hashtag #nsa12 from 14-17th July.
• I followed on twitter or facebook those people who's article had resonated with me 
• I shared with those people what I specifically liked about the article
• I started a dialogue with those who replied - who knows where that will go 
• I was inspired by Dan Thurmon's video using juggling knives as an example of how to cope with overwhelm - see also @danthurmon
• I just loved Richard Hight's art on the stage - see also @visualmpact

In the past using articles in Supply Management I've connected with people on LinkedIn and had conversations about potential work.

With my recent move into using Pinterest I even now have a place to keep favourite blog posts and inspiration videos for reference later.

If I receive the magazines to further my continuing professional development then it certainly didn't work in the past. These days I'm learning, I'm inspired and I'm taking action.

How are you using those professional magazines for your continuing professional development?

PS: It would help tremendously if those with web site makes their twitter and facebook contacts details easy to find and magazine publishers provide sufficient information in articles to find the people the article is about.

Alison Smith
The Purchasing Coach
Sowing the seeds for continuing professional development in Purchasing

Speaker Magazine picture Source: mynsa.org via Alison on Pinterest