Believe it or not. Majority of my days are spent living with no internet and it has been more than a year already and still counting that I am living with this kind of life. How is this possible? For starters, I don't have an internet connection at home. It's not because my family and I can't afford it but because the internet provider couldn't provide any in our place. Yes, this is the reason why it took me more than a year to get back to blogging but as what I've said earlier, I still don't have the internet connection to pursue this passion at home so I am doing this outside my comfort zone.
It was difficult to live a life without it especially for me, when majority of my work was spent using it like blogging, doing research and school related stuff, entertaining myself, and socializing. Back then, my only source of internet is when I go to a friend's house, at a public place, and at school. Now, I couldn't be bothered if there's internet or not in a public place. Although, I try to connect when I'm at a friend's house just to update my apps and post a selfie or two or maybe more just to say that I'm still alive and cute. Haha! There were days that my mom and I will try to register internet promos but it would last a day or two and sometimes it would just go to waste because who would have the time to spend a day or two just looking at their screens and be consumed by it?
During those times when we registered an internet promo, I'd feel guilty every time I'd spend a long time catching up and gave myself the excuse 'give yourself time on the internet because you've been deprived from it'. It works for me in some ways but I'd feel so bad at the end because it was totally a waste of my time. Why would I catch up on what's happening with other people's lives when they wouldn't even give a damn what's happening on my life? Missing out a lot was a fear but as time passed by, I wouldn't even care.
Disconnect to connect
Living a life with no internet connection is liberating. It changes how you look at life and it links to a life of minimalism, which you focus on what matters. If I have a chance to connect, I focus on one thing at a time. If it's Facebook, it would only be Facebook. If it's Youtube, it's only Youtube. I'd list down mentally the things I'd be doing if I'm plugged to the internet. I unsubscribed to a lot of people on Youtube a year or two ago and remained those who will contribute valuable insights in to my life and it helps greatly for my self-growth and evaluation. In a way, it makes the whole activity fun, productive and fruitful.
There would be outings and spontaneous dates with friends and I wouldn't even care to take out my phone because I'd rather live in the moment than be disconnected from them unless if it's time for picture taking. That's one thing I learned from a life with no internet. You get to socialize more and be connected with the people around you and it makes the whole moment wonderful and worth cherishing.
Mindfulness
When I started this kind of life, I became more aware of the things I'd post on social media if ever I'll have a date with the internet. When I'm out, I'd only take pictures that are worthy than take pictures just for the sake of it like how I used to take pictures with no sense just to update my IG stories or snaps. I know some of you would now evaluate whether you do take snaps or stories with the just because mindset. In fact, the last story I posted on Facebook was last April and I was showing the progress I had with my fitness journey.
Every time I'd post something on my social media accounts, I ask myself 'Is this worthy of my time, of my freedom to post this for the whole world to see?' If it's not, don't even bother.
I am less distracted now compared before. When I talk to people, I look at them eye to eye than facing my phone. When people talk, I'd do the same and be all ears on what they're saying. However, I have this talent if I'm not in the mood or uninterested to listen, I wouldn't even hear what you're saying.
More me-time
It was such a crazy roller coaster ride living without it because I was able to concentrate on things I've been wanting to do for a long time already. I got more time for reading last year and I was able to finish my reading challenge for only six months if I'm not wrong. Then, just this summer I decided to do something huge and it was to focus on my fitness journey. Along with my minimalism journey through decluttering stuff, I was able to evaluate the clothes I had and even though I can replace them with my former size (I was a bit chubby before), I rejected the idea. I didn't want to spend on clothes just because I got bigger and I always had a constant battle with myself every time I feel insecure, fat, and heavy. So the clothes I still wanted to keep and wear were one of my motivators to exercise.
I lost three kilograms in less than a month. How did I do it? I exercise, eat nutritious food, and ditch the food that won't do me any good physically and mentally. I still eat fast food but not in a regular basis and it would be a once in a blue moon thing so I won't deprive myself. Do I still look for junk? Hmm, not anymore.
My snacks at home and at work are healthier than ever before. I usually give time for making my snacks and if I don't have the time, raw vegetables are the way to go. As of the moment, I lost another two kilograms.
As a summary, I did a lot of self-discovery, improvement and growth!
Realizations
Along with this drastic yet wonderful change in my life, minimalism came. It helped me realize a lot.
- Now that I'm already working and my family and I are moving to a new place for the nth time, we think that there'd be a possibility that there would be an internet connection and there are times I think that I really don't need it. However, I may consider applying for one for my Mom and myself, of course, and balancing my life with it again could be pretty challenging. But I also don't like having it anyway so there would less bills to pay.
- You'd discover who your true friends are when you take a time off from the internet especially if it's a long one. You'll see who will be looking for you and you'll highly appreciate them. I have an online friend who I just met on Tumblr four years ago and we stopped communicating when I was already in college. One day, my friends and I planned to meet after work at a friend's house. I really didn't want to open my Twitter account since I haven't been using it for how many months already but I opened it just to see what's on trend and half hoping there would be notifications and DMs and yeah, there was one. From him, from this friend. He was looking for me, wondering why I'm no longer active on social media and he misses me. Awwwwe. I immediately told him to add me on FB and we did a lot of catching up.
- I missed a lot online. I wasn't updated with the latest trends and news but I was more updated with myself, with my surroundings and the people around me. I have plenty of time on my plate.
- Being busy on the internet or in the offline world doesn't equate to being productive. Are you really being productive or simply wasting gold?
- This isn't an easy journey. There were days and nights I'd cry because I've been missing out a lot. There was this constant battle that it's okay to spend a day just surfing the net because the internet promo would last a day only. There were ups and downs but all worth it. It changed me for the better.
Have you experienced disconnecting from the internet for a long time? Some people do social media cleanse, have you tried it? How was it?
Social Media