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On taking a digital break

mehretbiruk.substack.com

On taking a digital break

Solutions for a digitally-caffeinated world

Mehret Biruk
Dec 22, 2020
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On taking a digital break

mehretbiruk.substack.com
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iconic duo 📵🍕🌳

Hi there,

What better time than the end of the year, and 2020 at that, to take a much need break from the digital world? I’m trying to spend less time online for the rest of the year— to pause, pay full attention to the tiny humans in my life, and actually read the articles I have been bookmarking for years. *gasp!*

Five things to share:

  1. I’m taking a digital break to reset my system; reset my attention. To be reminded of what it is like to pay full attention to my surroundings and to laugh hard at the antics of my insanely ridiculous 2-year-old niece who is extremely hilarious— because I’m giving her my full attention and not half-heartedly chuckling while distractedly scrolling through an Instagram post, of someone I don’t even know. what. the. actual. fuck. Dear, Self. It’s also a good addition to my digital declutter journey.

    On taking a digital break

  2. I am currently reading Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes: A biography about the self-proclaimed introvert with three hit TV shows who commits to saying yes to one long year and the excruciating yeses that changed her life. There is enough information out there on the nos we can say to tackle our digital addiction but what are the yeses that improve our digital wellbeing? What excruciating yeses can we commit to to improve our lives? Whether it is a 30-day social media break or paying full attention to the tiny humans around us, let us add more yeses to our lives.Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes.

  3. Nathan Zed is a famous YouTuber who quit social media for four months back in 2018. In this 10-minute video, he humorously explains why he decided to take a break from social media and what he has learned from the experience.

  4. A quote I want to share with you:

    You are only free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.

    — Maya Angelou

  5. Our lives are filled with things we need to do— the need to check our email every 15 minutes or empty our inbox, the need to keep something perfectly neat or dress in the latest fashion, the need to meet with everyone who wants a meeting; until we look a bit closely at these needs. But where do these types of needs come from? They are completely made up and we can let go of of fake needs.

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading, and share with anyone you think may benefit.

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Until next time,

Mehret

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On taking a digital break

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