Is it time to unplug from social media?

Do you live and breathe on social media? Do you enjoy discovering new networks and communicating with your friends and coworkers through the Internet? Even more, are you working on digital media? Time to question yourself, when was the last time that you unplugged?

We live in the era of constant connectivity, of fast paces and of 'over-plugging'. A power outage can drive us crazy and a day with no Internet is like our worst nightmare. We love using the Internet and we appreciate its usefulness. However, we all have a time when we feel like we need a break. And that's when unplugging is required.

Digital detox, or unplug is a popular term nowadays and describes the need to get away from the Internet and the social networks, even for a few days. The endless notifications on our smartphones and the numerous emails coming up on our mailbox do not allow us to keep our peace of mind and that's why we need to set frequent unplugs.

That's what I did last week. I finished all the weekly tasks until Tuesday, notified my coworkers and my clients on the break I'm about to take, left my laptop at home and did not check my mails or Facebook for 5 days. I can't say I did not use Internet at all, since it is necessary when going on a trip, but at least I kept my promise and did not check my mails or my Facebook notifications. These two were my main reasons of the social burn out, and that's why I had to leave them behind even for this short time.

You can be amazed how calm you might feel when there's no distraction from your smartphone. When setting it in 'do not disturb' mode and turn off all the notifications, it suddenly gets invisible. It doesn't run out of battery and your mind is relaxed.

What's even better, is that when you get back, you realize the importance of mastering your social networks and not allowing them to overwhelm you. Your life is not only digital and you start controlling the daily use of them.

To sum up, here are my tips on social media unplug:

• Schedule frequent social media breaks and stick to them. Once per week could work well.
• If you take more than a day off your mails and work, make sure that your absence will not affect your tasks. Notify in advance anyone that might be concerned.
• Turn off all your notifications on your smartphone. Watch out! iPhone requires several notifications to be turned off, in order to make sure that you will not be disturbed. (When you get back you'll realize that you don't need to turn on all the notifications again)
• Take advantage of your digital unplug and do something you always wanted to do. You'll be amazed how relaxed and fresh you'll feel.

When was your last social media unplug then?