5. Give it your Attention when you are at it
Oftentimes, we flit from one Social Media platform to another with a zombie-like stance, mindlessly rolling down on one and then sprinting to another; with no time given to comprehend, digest, enjoy or introspect on what we are soaking in, giving our valuable time to it.
“In the age of social media, our attention can get bounced around like a ping-pong ball, from this call to that text message, to that tweet, such that by the end of the day we are exhausted. Mindfulness, or attention to the present moment, is lost. We spend our day “chasing,” letting others determine our focus, not choosing for ourselves where to put our attention and attending to the tasks most important to us,” warns Soren Gordhamer.
Be mindful of whatever information you are taking in. This way you will register the information more and will also feel satiated with the consumption of the information overload. Being present on the platforms but still not being really there creates a sense of vacuum that mechanical surfing fails to fill, instead creating a sense for more craving.
“When players practice what is known as mindfulness — paying attention to what’s actually happening — not only do they play better and win more, they also become more attuned to each other,” advises Phil Jackson, who has won a record 10 NBA Championships as a coach.
The lure of Social Media will only increase with time. With their significance and power as a potent media form, we will not be able to switch ourselves off or log ourselves completely out of it. What is going to be of utmost importance will be to come to a state of balance between how much and how little, how often and how infrequently and which one to lean more on than the others. Similarly, like in work-life balance, we will have to learn to carve a middle path between a simply ‘wired’ life to one that we must live in the real terms.
“The challenge of our time is to live connected and use all the great social media available to us, while at the same time harness and direct our attention where it is most needed at any given time,” adds Gordhamer.
Learning to manage and reap the Social media with the above strategies will bring in the distinction between being fatigued and focussed, shifty and attentive, engaged and effective, busy and productive, reckless and result-driven and overwhelmed or empowered.
Our choices and things where we want to park our exclusive, unadulterated attention define how we wish to lead our life.