4 Days Hiatus on social media and here's what happened.

So, last week was the observance to Season of Lent and everybody was expected to repent, attend to their respective act of sacrifice to God or go to beach and beat the summer vacation. In my case, I both attended church mass and spent my whole day on the beach and I'll tell you what, it was really an incredible week to me.

My long weekend began on the 28th of March, Wednesday supposedly we were expected to report for work but maybe because most establishments are closed on that day due to the government's announcement, our company sort of emulates the suspension or maybe they just want us to enjoy our vacation period early. Who knows?

On that day itself, I started to scan books on my e-library (I use Aldiko for my ebooks) to choose what to read beginning from that day. I told myself I'll be away from social media on my vacation since every week; I'm always online as it is part of my work. So I tried, after all, I'm not that hook to social media I trust it won't be that much of a problem or a big deal to me.

To make a clear illustration of how my Holy week/ holiday went, I created an outline of what I did throughout those days. Here it is:

28 March

• ·         Cleaned the house especially my room (Re-organized my books on my mini-shelf and some personal accessories)
• ·         Played with my dogs.
• ·         Watched TV.
• ·         Prepared my things for family outing.
• ·         Went out with my boyfriend to shop for necessities in outing.
• ·         Packed and prepare the food and stuffs.
• ·         Had a short-sleep.

29 March

• ·         At around 1 am, we head on to the place.
• ·         Swam for a little while with my siblings though it's cold.
• ·         Ate breakfast with family.
• ·         Swam again.
• ·         Ate.
• ·         Rested.
• ·         Swam again.
• ·         Roamed around the resort.
• ·         Rested.
• ·         Ate.

30 March

We were supposed to leave the place by 7am but we chose to cut it by 4am out of exhaustion and fret to our dogs that were left alone at home.

When we arrived at home, here's what I did to the entire day.

• ·         Cleaned our dogs' piss and poo.
• ·         Cooked for breakfast.
• ·         Unpacked our worn-clothes including the wet ones.
• ·         Prepared the bed for us to rest.
• ·         Slept.
• ·         Ate lunch.
• ·         Swept the floor.
• ·         Watched TV.
• ·         Ate merienda.
• ·         Prepared rice cake my mother cooked, for my boyfriend to take home, as well.
• ·         When he left, I continued watching television.
• ·         Played with my dog.
• ·         Went to my room and slept.
• ·         Ate dinner.
• ·         End my day after washing dishes.

31 March

• ·         Woke up and fixed my bed.
• ·         Cleaned the entire home with my mother.
• ·         Watched TV.
• ·         Ate.
• ·         Rested.
• ·         Prepared for church mass.
• ·         Began reading Sad Girls by Lang Leav.
• ·         Read.
• ·         Read.
• ·         Communicated with my boyfriend.
• ·         Read.
• ·         Slept.
• ·         Ate.
• ·         Communicated with my boyfriend.
• ·         Watched TV with mother.
• ·         Ate.
• ·         Rested while reading.
• ·         Slept.
• ·         Helped mother prepare dinner.
• ·         Ate.
• ·         Swept the floor.
• ·         Watched TV.
• ·         Slept.

There you go. As you can see, throughout my 4 days vacation and with all honesty, I did not check on my social media accounts. I did check my messenger because I use it for messaging purposes and also to check updates if ever my bosses posted an update on our group chats but aside from it, there nothing else.

Taking a break or hiatus in social media for 4 days straight made me see things clearly. It made me do things more, bond with my family unlike whenever I'm on social media  I'm always lying on my bed all day till I get to sleep  and  end up completely unproductive.

I also noticed how my dogs reacted when I interacted with them. You know that dog reaction every time you arrived from work or wherever you headed to, my dogs acted like that and it amazed me because I realized that I haven't get to bond with them though I have time.

Moreover, I had a great time talking with my mother while doing the chores and as we watched the television. The moment we spoke I knew I have not done it for quite long. Don't get me wrong. I am talking to my mother every time I arrived home from work or every weekend but during those days I really felt like I haven't had those connection with my mother like I've been to somewhere though I'm just at home doing nothing.

Truth be told, social media can always be a distraction and worse, can break connections you work hard to establish. Calling it off with social media for a while gives you that relaxing feeling. You get to avoid toxicity from a bunch of people who constantly post online and the best thing about it for me; you’ll get to rebuild a better connection to people dearest to you. So if you’re tired of people’s bullsh*t, don’t think twice. Turn away from it and unwind. It gets better afterwards. Trust me.

Why worry about your social media accounts when you can always go back anytime you want? Just leave temporarily or completely if you like.

Try it for yourself and let me know below how it went for you.