I recently saw this graphic on beautiful Leonie Dawson‘s Facebook page and laughed out loud. In fact, I think it might have been one of those self-embracing, humiliating, ‘I know you’re talking to me’ uncomfortable laughs.

Getting My Tech On

I’ve always been one of those ‘everything has its place’ internet people. I still have a lovely little prehistoric Nokia phone, which I’m very loath to get rid of. My family all have Smartphones, and even my Grandad has one. I cannot imagine having the internet at my fingertips whenever I want it, because I know I’d just get completely sucked in, and that my time would evaporate. Unfortunately, the way technology is moving at the moment, I might not have much choice but to ‘get with it’ and join the world of commuters with their fingers glued to smudgy screens. But all in all, I’m very disciplined when in comes to using the internet, well…I used to be.

Starting a blog and becoming friends and proud supporters of lots of other lovely blogging peeps means that my ‘just check it later’ muscle is dwindling a bit. I absolutely lovely connecting with everyone through this page and hearing stories, and love learning from other writers and wellbeing people on the internet. It’s refreshing, exciting and something big, big, big is happening in our world through this wave of change we’re experiencing on the internet at the moment.

However…

Recently, I’ve found that I’m spending a lot more time on the internet than I’d like. I find that my mind is a lot more cluttered and ‘wired’ than it usually is. I find myself scrawling through incredibly inspirational blogs and Facebook feeds, but instead of finding that these words are contributing to my life and development, I sometimes find myself mindlessly liking them for the sake of it, not because I’m truly, truly encouraging people with an open heart and a big ‘well done’. This really upsets me, as I feel like I’m not coming from a place of love and authenticity.

Sometimes we need to bring the right mindset and energy with us, even into the way we interact on the internet. The internet is an incredible, open-plan, anything goes space and we’re incredibly lucky to have it. But for that reason, it’s also quite addictive. #firstworldproblem

While meditating recently, I’ve discovered that my soul is crying out for a big internet break and I simply can’t ignore it for much longer.

Why?

• Because I need to figure out which thoughts are actually mine and which thoughts are just noise, belonging to other people or the world at large.
• Because there’s a whole lot of creativity bubbling up inside me that I can’t let out until I allow it and honour it with appropriate space, clarity and time.
• Because I need to re-prioritise my writing and develop ways of helping you lovely people further.
• Because my yoga mat is missing me.
• Because I’ve got a stack of books and magazines a mile high which are calling out to me (they’re not exactly what you’d call ‘high-brow’ either, remember just reading for pleasure?!)
• Because I need to meditate for a little bit longer and breathe a little bit deeper.
• Because I’m looking forward to that huge sigh of relief and how it’s going to feel when I shut my laptop lid for a while.

Ok, there’s a chance I might freak out a little bit and be tempted to jump back on. Even though I’m not a huge internet user, it definitely becomes ingrained in your life and your daily routines. I want to get the power back and step away for a little bit.

What This Means

In the grand scheme of things, not a great deal. I’ll be going offline on Wednesday 2nd October at 6pm AEST and be coming back at some point the week beginning Monday 13th October. This means that there won’t be another of my newsletters for a while, but feel free to rummage around the archives for something that you might have missed. There’ll be an ‘out-of-office’ reply thing going on (yep, it’s serious), but rest assured, I’ll answer any emails when I return.

I’ll be in complete shut-down mode. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Pinterest, no YouTube, no emails (!), no checking of anything, no noise, no chatter, just a blank canvas.

Can’t wait to share my results with you when I get back.

Step away from the computer…

Could you do with a break from the internet? (Disclaimer: I know this is impossible if you need the internet to work and live!) Could you do with deleting that Facebook app from your iPhone, even for just a few days? How is the internet getting in the way of your life and big dreams?

Give yourself permission to step away.

Love and clearing the clutter,

Katie      xxx