Recently, I had a sociology assignment that asked me to forgo one technological device and one social media app. I was already planning on turning some things off for a while and I took this assignment as a sign to get motivated and do what I’d only been speaking of doing. 

But instead, I wanted to take things a little further. So, I decided to turn off my phone completely and delete all social media and entertainment apps/websites. This included Netflix, Amazon Prime, Instagram, Snapchat, and whatever else that I thought would pose as a distraction for me. 

And so I embarked on my detox journey. It was honestly… not that hard. Hear me out. After I’d turned off everything, I immediately became more productive. And it wasn’t even because of this profound perspective I was adorning (although that might’ve been a factor). It was because I simply had nothing else to do. 

To those that are well mastered in the art of procrastination, here’s a piece of advice from a fellow member of the club: if you block everything that could possibly lead you to procrastinate, you get so bored of having nothing to do that you actually start doing the work that you need to. And I was little by little finding more time to do things that I always put off because of my schedule. I rekindled my love for reading and fell back into old habits of not even communicating with others until I was finished with my book; each book further fueling my obsession for literature. 

But, this column isn’t about the beauty of literature. If that’s why we were here, trust me, I could go on for hours and hours on end. Anyways, I guess what I’m trying to say is that there’s always a way for you to find time for the things that matter to you. It might take some time (not everything in life comes easily), but if you care enough to want to change, I believe that you can. 

My assignment was only for a week and ended a while ago. But, I plan on continuing my “new and improved” lifestyle for as long as I can.