Well written piece! I especially love the quote: "You have the power to choose where you place your attention, instead of having it chosen for you." I've been thinking a lot lately about what my life looked like before TikTok and short-form media, and it surprises me to think that it was only six years ago. I've also been thinking about how when I'm scrolling, I can no real choice over what is being shown to me and that scares me.
I often turn to my phone when I'm mentally or emotionally exhausted, and I view it as a brain-break. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that inundating my brain with seconds of content I didn't even choose to watch, that sounds like the LAST thing I need when I'm feeling depleted.
Spring is the perfect time for boredom and detaching. This time last year, I decided to stop listening to music on my walk to the train in the mornings and I felt like I was watching my neighborhood bloom in real time—something I used to feel happened overnight. I also decided to buy a CD player and disposable film camera to take it a step further, and both have become rituals in my commute!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I can 1000% relate to the feeling of scrolling as a brain break, but then realizing we have no real choice over what we’re being shown. It’s scary to think how much time we spend seeing things that were chosen for us! I’m definitely working to lower the time I spend on social media. I actually bought a brick if you’ve heard of those to help lock me out of social media. It’s been nice to have scheduled times I’m not allowed to open the apps, and to be able to lock them when I don’t want to be distracted. It’s really helped me see how often I would go to grab my phone when I didn’t actually want to. It was muscle memory! Sometimes I’ll purposefully leave it in another room, and I’ve noticed having more space between tasks really helps my brain out. Being bored is so helpful!
So I was visiting Ayer’s Rock and I’m ashamed to admit, but I was just really bored. I looked around and could see I wasn’t the only tourist there who felt like that. It pains me to say it.. but … there was something missing.
I was sat there feeling a bit dejected staring at this huge red rock shimmering in the outback sun… then it struck me out of the blue like a thunderbolt. Suddenly I knew what was needed to lift the whole thing, and bring those tourists back in their droves.
The minute my plane landed, I made a beeline to The Rock Weaving Workshop.
Such an insightful piece! It feels like there’s permission here— to soften into discomfort, to allow new ideas to germinate, to want to redirect to connection. Thanks for writing 💕
Thank you so much, Becca! I love that you shared that this feels like permission. That is exactly what I was going for. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment! ♥️
This is a very affirming thing to read right now! I'm currently on a spring work sabbatical, including a social media/work-related media break, and it's amazing to watch where the brain goes. I had actually already implemented walking with no inputs–the first 20-30 minutes feels really hard and uncomfortable but then the brain starts to settle and comfortably wander. I wish we could all afford this time in our days!! I'm gonna save this post for when I start to get restless.
Thank you so much for reading, Xan! Your sabbatical sounds incredible. I'm so curious to hear how your brain feels after more time with the social media break. Do you have an idea of how long you're trying to take this break? I love that you're getting to a place where you can notice your brain starting to settle and wander!
I rarely feel bored, but I love this. This is probably why creative thoughts come in the shower because we are not otherwise engaged.
Yes! I love it when ideas come to me in the shower. :)
Well written piece! I especially love the quote: "You have the power to choose where you place your attention, instead of having it chosen for you." I've been thinking a lot lately about what my life looked like before TikTok and short-form media, and it surprises me to think that it was only six years ago. I've also been thinking about how when I'm scrolling, I can no real choice over what is being shown to me and that scares me.
I often turn to my phone when I'm mentally or emotionally exhausted, and I view it as a brain-break. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that inundating my brain with seconds of content I didn't even choose to watch, that sounds like the LAST thing I need when I'm feeling depleted.
Spring is the perfect time for boredom and detaching. This time last year, I decided to stop listening to music on my walk to the train in the mornings and I felt like I was watching my neighborhood bloom in real time—something I used to feel happened overnight. I also decided to buy a CD player and disposable film camera to take it a step further, and both have become rituals in my commute!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I can 1000% relate to the feeling of scrolling as a brain break, but then realizing we have no real choice over what we’re being shown. It’s scary to think how much time we spend seeing things that were chosen for us! I’m definitely working to lower the time I spend on social media. I actually bought a brick if you’ve heard of those to help lock me out of social media. It’s been nice to have scheduled times I’m not allowed to open the apps, and to be able to lock them when I don’t want to be distracted. It’s really helped me see how often I would go to grab my phone when I didn’t actually want to. It was muscle memory! Sometimes I’ll purposefully leave it in another room, and I’ve noticed having more space between tasks really helps my brain out. Being bored is so helpful!
So I was visiting Ayer’s Rock and I’m ashamed to admit, but I was just really bored. I looked around and could see I wasn’t the only tourist there who felt like that. It pains me to say it.. but … there was something missing.
I was sat there feeling a bit dejected staring at this huge red rock shimmering in the outback sun… then it struck me out of the blue like a thunderbolt. Suddenly I knew what was needed to lift the whole thing, and bring those tourists back in their droves.
The minute my plane landed, I made a beeline to The Rock Weaving Workshop.
Such an insightful piece! It feels like there’s permission here— to soften into discomfort, to allow new ideas to germinate, to want to redirect to connection. Thanks for writing 💕
Thank you so much, Becca! I love that you shared that this feels like permission. That is exactly what I was going for. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment! ♥️
this. i just needed this today 🫶🏼
thank you so much for reading and for your sweet comment. ♥️
This is a very affirming thing to read right now! I'm currently on a spring work sabbatical, including a social media/work-related media break, and it's amazing to watch where the brain goes. I had actually already implemented walking with no inputs–the first 20-30 minutes feels really hard and uncomfortable but then the brain starts to settle and comfortably wander. I wish we could all afford this time in our days!! I'm gonna save this post for when I start to get restless.
Thank you so much for reading, Xan! Your sabbatical sounds incredible. I'm so curious to hear how your brain feels after more time with the social media break. Do you have an idea of how long you're trying to take this break? I love that you're getting to a place where you can notice your brain starting to settle and wander!