Setting Boundaries and Creating Balance

After a playful morning, my daughter desperately needed a nap. N has never been the type of child to just lay down and fall asleep. It generally requires a fair amount of cuddling, baby wearing and quiet time, which is fine because that's just her personality and we work with it. But right now, I'm enjoying the time where she does play by herself. But, I also have to take the opportunity to write down thoughts while they are fresh, otherwise I'll forget them and they'll be gone forever. Or maybe not forever, but they'll be gone and come back at a really inconvenient time. This is something that I have been thinking about A LOT lately in various contexts, but still quite a bit. Generally, I like to think that I have a pretty good handle on my life, I'm pretty much in control and don't let myself get too "out of control" with any one thing....however, there is an intense need/attachment in my life to media/social media/connection.  Idolizing. Something that is just always there, reliable, but good? Oh sometimes, absolutely. Most of the time, no. Just time consuming. Laying in bed with my daughter and husband scrolling through Facebook, yup. Checking email while at the park with N, oh gosh, yes. Nursing or feeding and flipping through Instagram, all. the. time. Get it?

Let me be clear, I certainly don't think this social media thing is a terrible, awful drug that should be eliminated--no, not at all. I have made friends, kept up with distant family members and continue to keep myself up-to-date with issues that are important to me. All things that are IMPORTANT. What I'm trying to say is that it's just TOO time consuming, which is where the boundaries come in.

I'm teaching myself to set personal boundaries. As someone who "works" in a hybrid way, in person and online, soon to be strictly online, it is exceptionally important for me to be available, but not always. It's easy to get caught up in constantly checking. I need to draw the line before it gets too far skewed to be deciphered. Make sense?

For the very reason of "teaching" myself and my family, primarily N, I certainly will not completely eliminate social media from my life. Not only it is a welcome escape for me when I spend 90 percent of my time with babies but it also isn't going anywhere. To eliminate it from our lives would be naive and silly. I want to set these boundaries early so that my children don't get inundated with social media but have learned how to effectively use it in the most beneficial and satisfying ways. In fact, this morning there was a segment on the Today Show that highlighted the "Twitter Revolution" and how it has changed Hollywood. media and life in general. It struck a cord with me, it's so interesting, gratifying and yet exceptionally scary for us and future generations. I don't want to be constantly checking, but I don't want to miss anything. Sometimes, the logging in has become more of a habit that an actual interest in the lives of the people that are on the other side of the meaningless (yet sometimes hilarious or infuriating or annoying) status updates, tweets or IG photos.

My phone and laptop aren't going to be locked up, I'm not going to delete any apps or accounts, but I'm going to challenge myself to just leave it alone. Thus I won't be eliminating the temptations but rather learning to deal with it. My hope is that I'm not alone in this struggle and that if you're feeling a little TOO connected that you'll take the time to enjoy the amazing things that are actually around you. Or spend the time you're online doing something that enriches your life rather than a pointless time-waster.