I was reading The New Yorker in bed and skimmed an article about a recycled shoe company that’s doing innovative and elite things with sneaker construction. I was only mildly interested because I never figured out the shoe thing like a proper lady. I mostly wear rain boots and snow boots and, occasionally, “dress-up boots” which are just plain boots that aren’t waterproof.
The next morning, I was dismayed to find that Instagram was feeding me ads for this hipster shoe company. Did they implant a chip in my head when I wasn’t looking? Dammit.
I have been off Facebook for almost week now and I have to say that I have not missed it for one blessed second. I only had two moments all week — one when I needed to screenshot something on Facebook for a client job, and another when I realized I didn’t have my friend Sara’s email address OR phone number. Oops. Other than that, good riddance.
I wish I could say that disabling my Facebook account has made me a better, happier, more woke person, but honestly, it doesn’t feel much different. Which truly tells me how little value or impact it had on my life to mindlessly scroll through that shit every day. And hey, I’m still on Instagram and Twitter, so I’m no hero.
Still, I do feel good. This has less to do with Facebook and more to do with an abstinence binge I’m on — sans alcohol, flour, and sugar. With my blood sugar less volatile I’m finding a lot of things way easier, like, ahem, getting up in the morning. And reading at night. Not only am I mostly caught up on my New Yorkers, I finished two books this past week—Hippie Food, riveting, and Pachinko, magnificent. And I’m tempted to recommit to National Geographic, although I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
I’ve also been bullet journaling. This is a fancy style of journaling perfect for people with intense parameters around balancing the left and right brains for optimal personal-task engagement. It’s basically a combination of day planning and journaling where you start with a methodology and expand on it creatively.
The methodology is basic: you start with a blank journal, create pages for yearly, monthly, and daily calendars, and use different notations for tasks, events, and thoughts. As time goes on, you go back and notate which ones you accomplished and which ones can be moved or crossed out. (Watch the video here if you’re interested.)
Layered on that, you can use pages for anything you want, really. I started following the @bulletjournal feed on Instagram for ideas.
Turns out that #bujo (as it were) is a progressive replacement for Facebook. Instead of uselessly perseverating over the shitty ways of the external world, I’m turning the lens inward on how I can be a more productive, effective (and let’s face it, calmer) person. I sit here on this peaceful Saturday early morning, with the sun slicing it’s way through my bedroom window, and at 7:46 I’ve already crossed a few major things off my list.
I’m reading Pachinko now and loving it!