Take Five

I’m taking five.

For Lent.

Specifically…I’m taking five from Facebook.

I considered a complete withdrawal during Lent, but Facebook has become so intertwined with how I communicate with some people (wishing them a Happy Birthday, responding to event invitations, answering messages), a complete withdrawal seemed problematic.

So I chose to take five.

Each day (generally in the morning), I sit down, set a timer for five minutes, and log in.

Five minutes is not enough time for scrolling.

It has forced me to prioritize how I interact with Facebook.

Five minutes is (almost) just enough time to wish Happy Birthdays (66 of them on my friends list during Lent), answer any messages, and review any notifications.

Additionally, I have not been posting and only rarely commenting.

So the time I am spending on Facebook is spent more in the attitude of “listening” rather than sharing my own thoughts and opinions.

For the first couple of days, I felt jumpy.

At moments when I normally might have “jumped” onto Facebook for a *few minutes* – I had to catch myself and redirect my mental wanderlust.

I set a reminder on my phone for each morning – so I wouldn’t forget.

As the weeks have progressed, it has become easier.

As I write this, we are just past the halfway mark of this year’s Lent.

Here are some reflections so far:

• I worry that friends will be disappointed if I don’t see and respond to the things they post. For some, that might be true. But for the majority of my Facebook friends, it is highly unlikely they will notice or care whether I am among their “likes” or comments.
• I worry that I will miss important information. I might. But for really important information, hopefully Facebook is not the only or primary way important information is being shared.
• I miss sharing links to articles or posts I find interesting. I like doing this and believe there is value in it; but I also am realizing I can perhaps be choosier about what and how many things I share. I am also reminding myself that people are not on the edge of their seat waiting to see what I will post next.

In a nutshell: I need to be more intentional with my time.

When Lent is over and my “take five” journey is complete, I plan to still set a daily time limit.

More than five minutes.

Much less than I spent on Facebook daily in the past.

During Lent we are called – beginning with Ash Wednesday’s reminder that from dust we came and to dust we will return – to realize our time is limited.

We’re reminded we need to live accordingly.

Intentionally.

Every day.

Every minute.

In a nutshell: I need to be more intentional with my time.

Not just on Facebook.

Facebook is only a microcosm/symbol of how we spend time.

With whom do we spend our time? Are we intentional about it?

What do we think, talk, read, and worry about? Are we intentional about it?

What do we want to say to the world? Are we intentional about it?

Perhaps it is a good rule of thumb, if we can’t answer “yes” to those three questions, to pause and regroup.

Take five.