40. A late December pledge
Trying something new by eliminating the "new."
My dear Substack audience, happy holidays 💖 It’s no secret I’ve been inconsistent lately. The busy work season and prep for a big holiday craft fair knocked me for a loop. Weeks later, I’m still clambering back to achieve something of a neutral standing posture… vainly resisting the pull of distraction towards this chore, or that shiny bauble of online content.
To assist in recalibrating this winter break, I realized a media detox might be in order. Here are the rules I wrote with an eye towards pragmatism and balance, shared for accountability purposes.
From now (December 20th) until January 1st, I pledge to approach the following media outlets thusly:
Books: I will not begin new books; I will only finish books I already started, or reread books
TV: I will not begin new shows; I will only finish shows I already started, or rewatch episodes
Email: I will not read any new Substack/newsletter posts that come into my inbox; I will move those to a separate folder for January. If I am drawn to read long-form newsletters, I can revisit prior emails to which I haven’t yet given my full attention
Instagram: I will not scroll the feed. I can only open the app once per day: first to make a post announcing this doubling-down on my Instagram hiatus, and then to see if anyone contacts me on private messages (upon which I’ll direct the conversation to another medium)
Spotify: I will not listen to new music playlists; I will only listen to music I’ve heard before, and artists I’ve listened to before
Podcasts: I will not listen to any new episodes; I will only catch up on episodes I’ve already downloaded, or re-listen to past episodes
YouTube: I will not watch any new videos; I will only rewatch videos I’ve already seen that were published before today
The general theme is to quiet the overwhelm of the 24/7 content cycle, and rid myself of the compulsion to be “caught up.” I need more brain space to reflect on good memories from this year, and create my hopes and dreams for 2023.
Do you think any of these pledges might benefit you as well? Let me know if you decide to follow along, and I’d love to hear how you feel after January 1st!
Wishing you all the most restful and happiest of Decembers, and hoping we all go into 2023 with a refreshed mind and reinvigorated artistic ~spirit~ 😎