permission to put.the.phone.down.
Oh hello there!
It’s time for Part 2 of our Maximize Your Me-Time (minimize your guilt) Series. Today, you’re going to get a visit from Tough-Love-Lisa. Because, my sweet friend, we’ve got ourselves a little problem.
The problem is that our screen time is out of control. Like, literally, out of ever-loving control. We waste so much of our lives with our poor heads buried in our phones. Our thumb muscles are way stronger than they were even meant to be. The cases of carpal tunnel are actually on the rise because of our technology addiction.
So, Tough-Love-Lisa is here to ask you some questions AND encourage you to download your free Maximize Your Me-Time workbook and follow along with this blog and podcast series!
Ready to rock with 2 simple, yet profound, life-altering (and that’s not an exaggeration) questions?!
How do you spend your free time (me-time or otherwise)?
How does that leave you feeling?
I’ll run through some examples with you from my own life, because you know how I love sharing my mess first. Let’s start with the good one.
I prioritize running each week -- once with Jen on a 4-mile jaunt, and then with myself and my headphones and the Holy Spirit. Even if I don’t feel like running, I’m always happy I did it. You never regret a run, they say. But when I’m done running, I’m refreshed. My thoughts are in order. My alone-time tank has been filled. My heart (and sometimes tear ducts) are exploding with gratitude for time with the Holy Spirit and God’s faithfulness to always show up on the run.
On the other hand, there are evenings when I am so exhausted that I collapse into bed, turn on the TV to watch yet another episode of The Office, and scroll through social media, check my email, get back to social in case I missed anything, back to email one more time because I have already forgotten whether or not I checked all 3 accounts. And before I know it, my stupid brain is reactivated so I feel less tired, but it’s an hour later than I wanted to fall asleep. So then I’m mad at myself, anxious to fall asleep so it’s hard to actually fall asleep, and then I wake up extra tired, sometimes even snoozing my “quiet time and coffee” alarm until there’s no such thing as quiet time because my kids are awake.
Two totally different scenarios, neither one seemingly HUGE or LIFE-ALTERING. But, as you know, it’s the little moments that make up our lives. If we’re not careful, bad mornings can turn into bad days. Bad days can turn into bad weeks. Bad habits can turn into worse habits that can turn into I’m-not-addicted-I’m-just...which leads to a generally painful realization that you were addicted long before you knew it.
We’ve got the choice. YOU’VE got the choice to spend your free-time in ways that foster more love and joy and peace in your life. You can. You can choose. I just wanted to remind you of that today. That you’re not a slave unless you want to be. (And believe me, sometimes it is easier to stay captive than to run in freedom because it’s more comfortable, and putting in the work required to change can be hard.)
But what if, today, you took some time and did a little screen time audit. A little reflection about what you’re saying no to when you’re saying yes to the mindless scroll. A little step in the right direction towards really maximizing your me-time, minimizing your guilt, and step-by-step becoming the brilliantly gorgeous woman God created you to be.
Download this episode of the Megaphone Podcast. Work through the Maximize Your Me-Time, Minimize Your Guilt pages. And let me know how it goes.
You, my friend, are loved beyond belief. So today I’m giving you permission to stop down and do the work. You’re worth every minute of it.
Cheering you on!
Lisa
P.S. I’m serious -- download this podcast episode. And if you want to watch something other than The Office, you can always feast your eyes on the podcast on YouTube, IGTV, or Facebook.