Power Down

If powering down means a detachment from technology, the Internet, social media….

what would that look like for you?

Does it make your skin crawl and a shiver run up your spine? Do you start itching all over? Do you get the shakes?

Kidding, of course, but seriously friends, we’re addicted whether we think so or not. When something becomes such an ordinary part of every day, so habitual and second nature,

*cough*facebook*cough*twitter*cough*facebook*cough*pinterest…

it’s most likely taking up a whole lot of our time. And we’re all so busy and I thought about this a lot when I always caught myself saying that I don’t have time to write or clean or get anything done ever (I like to dramatize).

Many moons ago I was reading an article by Anne Lamott that reminded writers that we have time to write, “if we get off Twitter.” Then my insides flip flopped because even though I don’t spend all day on Twitter, when I’m there, I get lost and totally forget what I was doing and then I look at the clock and an hour has passed in which I’ve clicked back and forth to twitter, responding to beeps and done pretty much nothing else besides scrolling through my inbox.

I started to mull this over after I read that article, and then I had Elsie and everything changed. My time changed so much that I was forced (in a good way) to see my routines more clearly. I ended up experiencing a shift in the connection to my online connection, a healthy detachment that felt like renewal, inspiration and freedom.

I still love me some social media, but here I am, in a different place.

It’s a really long story, which will be told (complete with my Minnaaaahsoooohtan accent) but all of this led to a passionate focus for me. I started to want this for other people. I started to see how much it would help people with the “balance” they’re searching for and I wanted to talk about it. So now I will, in a podcast, and I really hope you’ll listen!

You can learn more about the podcast at its home base on the SITSgirls website. (Power Down, the podcast, will be there to click on and listen to, starting Wednesday, January 16th and then will appear every other Wednesday.)

This podcast will be a conversation, hosted by myself and my friends Amy Whitley, Tiffany Romero and Fran Banducci (we won’t host all at once, but we’ll take turns, two at a time). We’ll talk about what powering down means in our lives and we’ll host a lovely guest each time. Our guests will be women who have created something in the online space–a successful blog or another creative endeavor based online–to talk about their “behind the scenes.” What is life like at home? How do they manage it all? In what ways do they struggle? These will be women who you most likely have heard of or maybe even follow online and some you haven’t, all of them wise and witty, inspiring and honest. We’ll speak candidly with them, about the ins and outs of life at home, online and off. I know this much–we’ll learn a lot from them.

If you are someone in the online space in some kind of work/hobby capacity, trying to build a readership or learning about writing, growing a business….whatever you’re doing here, you’ll know what I mean when I say that this podcast will be something akin to being a fly on the wall during a conversation over dinner or in a hotel room at a conference. You’re always invited in.

And if you’re someone who isn’t professionally attached to social media, this will still be a conversation that benefits you. You don’t want to miss it. We’re always talking about the struggle to find more peace in our chaotic daily grind. Everyone has this in common, and we want to give you practical tips and much more–a perspective on letting go a little more and a discussion on what you gain from that.

We’re not asking anyone to give up technology, to go all Laura Ingalls-Wilder on 2013. We’re simply asking the listeners to…well, listen….to be open to something that might be said just for you. And then, to maybe consider cutting back in whatever way feels right to you. Maybe keeping your iPhone or iPad out of the bedroom or logging off after 7pm. Maybe it means disconnecting for one day a week or simply becoming more aware of how often you’re tempted to check your phone.

Power Down is for all of us, and I really hope you’ll listen, and please don’t make fun of my accent. Thankyouverymuch.

{Amy has written a post about Power Down over at Never-True Tales. Her perspective always teaches me.}