The decision to take a big step back from social media means I’m now spending the time writing. I still have the apps on my iPad, but I no longer feel the need to check them constantly. I’m one of those people who hates seeing the little dot thingy (technical term) that pops up to let you know that you have notifications. I don’t like them so I will always click on whatever app has it just to get them to go away. Which meant I used to click on Facebook ten times a day or more to clear my notifications and then I’d end up scrolling through the feed and checking what was going on in some of the author groups. The next thing I know I’ve just wasted hours that I could have spent writing or doing something else useful.

In the last three months I’ve written more than I have this entire year. In fact, I wrote three novel length stories, a novella, and around 150,000 words on three other works in progress. Compared to the one novella, one short story, and around 80,000 words I had written in the earlier part of this year. 

I still go onto social media ever so often. I typically check Facebook once a week and in the evenings while I’m watching television with Hubby I’ll scroll through Instagram durning the commercial breaks. A few times a month I will check out Pinterest for new recipes. But that’s been the extent of my social media usage the last few months and I find that I like it that way. I would much rather spend my time writing; whether that is a novel, a blog post, or a newsletter. 

Social media is one of those things I’ve never been good at. Mostly because I live a boring life and I actually prefer it that way. I’m a homebody. My best friend teases me about being a hermit all the time since I will go weeks or even months without leaving my house. I’m not someone who has to go somewhere and do something all the time. If I could afford it I’m pretty sure I would just spent my days reading and eating and nothing else. Because I love books and good food. 

My Instagram feed is pretty much all pictures of food. Either the beautiful food Hubby makes or the different loaves of bread I’ve made. There might be a few other things thrown in but that’s mostly it at the moment. I haven’t posted any pictures for awhile. I’m never going to be one of those people who thinks to reach for a phone or camera first, so there are a lot of times where we’re already eating before I think about taking a picture. Having the ‘no electronics at the dinner table’ rule means my phone is usually in the living room. So I have to make a conscious effort when I do take a photo.

But all of that means I don’t have a lot to share on a daily basis. I avoid drama in my life and online. I’m not big on gossip and I’m not up on the latest trends. And I don’t have time to search online for things to share just so I can share something. 

So instead I’m going to focus on writing the best books I can and using things like Facebook ads to promote my books and hope that’s enough.