4 Lessons from a Week Without Media
The Artist’s Way media deprivation challenge
What to be more creative? I sure do.
A couple of years ago, I found myself as a burnt-out medical provider. As an antidote, I took time off and signed up for art classes. As I took classes and met different types of artists, I started hearing talk about morning pages, artist dates, and a book called The Artist’s Way.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a 12-week program designed to explore and unlock your creativity and inner artist. On week four, there is a dreaded media deprivation challenge. When originally written, the challenge was no reading but has since been amended to include media and other forms of distraction.
Why give up media? Cameron argues that consuming media means we are less likely to create it. We need to give ourselves space to get bored and think.
It is a paradox that by emptying our lives of distractions we are actually filling the well.
— Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
Here were my rules: no books, podcasts, news, TV. And no emails or social media outside of work.
Looking at the list of restrictions filled me with dread. How was I going to unwind at night? What was I going to do all week?
I decided to focus on what I could do instead of what I couldn’t do. I listed out allowed activities including puzzles, listening to music, calling a friend, writing, drawing, painting, cleaning, cooking, re-potting my plants, exercising, meditating, and napping.
With a combination of excitement and trepidation, I deleted apps, put parental controls on my phone, and got ready for a dull week.
Boundaries are essential (and hard)
The boundary between work and home has been blurring for years, but the pandemic exacerbated it — now we are always online and available.
I work for myself, which has pros and cons. I have autonomy over my schedule, but without PTO, sick days, or set work hours, it’s easy to overwork. Since the pandemic started, I’ll admit that my work and life boundaries have been almost non-existent. I’ve known for a while I needed to create better boundaries, but making those boundaries is easier said than done.
To keep my business going, I still used social media (limited to 45-minutes daily) and checked my email. But I set start and end times for my day. I am lucky to work in an industry that doesn’t have emergencies. If there is one, my client calls 911, not me. This let me unplug without the fear of missing something.
Why do work-life boundaries matter? Research and the lived experience of many workers show us that when work intrudes on our personal life, it increases our stress and affects our family.
Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others.
— Brene Brown
Work boundaries will look different for everyone. To create yours, ask yourself:
- How can I set clear start and ends to my days?
- Do I need to be checking in as often as I am?
- Can I communicate with my team about after-hours emergencies (calling vs. slack) so that I can disconnect without the fear of missing something?
- Can I discuss the priorities of tasks with my manager to avoid last-minute late nights?
Finding balance is an active task. It takes adjustments depending on the situation. The goal is to be flexible but intentional with our boundaries. You may, like me, realize one boundary works well, but in a new or evolving situation, it needs to be adjusted.
The 2:30 Slump is Real
During my no media week, I relished not having distractions in the mornings. I’m a morning person, and to nobody’s surprise, without distractions, I was focused and productive. The challenge came in the afternoon.
In Daniel Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, he explores how our energy and focus naturally ebbs and flows throughout the day. He points out that we can’t expect ourselves to be sharp and make good decisions all day long.
Afternoons are the Bermuda Triangles of our days. Across many domains, the trough represents a danger zone for productivity, ethics, and health.
— Daniel H. Pink, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
After a focused morning, I found myself fading in the afternoon and wishing I could scroll or read something.
The problem? These activities don’t usually leave me feeling more energized. Typically I’ll scroll for an hour or more and feel even more tired than when I started. So, during my media deprivation week, I tried other things.
Some days I worked on a puzzle. Other days I napped. I gave my brain and body a break, and sure enough, around 3 or 4, I started to feel more focused again. The challenge illuminated how important that afternoon break is for me. I’ve since built it into my work schedule.
To incorporate this into your own life, bring awareness to your energy levels in the afternoon. Notice, don’t judge when you start to fade. Now experiment. Pick a day and block 10–30 minutes on our schedule. How long will depend on your daily demands and the autonomy over your schedule. Just do what you can.
Take a break. A real break.
Close your eyes, make some tea, meditate, go for a walk, or sit outside. Notice, does taking that break change the trajectory of your afternoon?
Our bodies and minds love sleep
Without my usual distractions, especially at night, I found myself in bed consistently between 8 pm and 9 pm. I usually go to bed early, but this was a noticeable change.
After a couple of nights, I found myself waking up before my alarm with lots of energy. For me, mornings are when my creative juices are flowing. The more refreshed I feel, the more I can focus and create. Win-win.
And it’s not just my experience. A growing amount of evidence is showing a link between sleep and creativity and learning.
REM-sleep dreaming… fuels creativity.
— Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
For a lot of us, scrolling and watching TV or videos interferes with our sleep. Why? It is two-fold. First, the LEDs’ blue lights can suppress melatonin levels (melatonin creates our sleep drive when the sun goes down). Second, the distracting nature of these activities means you may not feel how tired you are.
Are you struggling with your sleep? Try implementing a phone or screen bedtime. You can use an alarm, parental controls, or enlist help from the people you live with. You don’t need to go to sleep when the alarm goes off, but avoid screens and other technology distractions. You may realize, like I did, that without the distraction, it’s easier to fall asleep.
Scrolling is a coping mechanism
In preparation for the challenge, I deleted all distracting apps — in effect, turning my smartphone into a dumb phone. Out of habit, I still found myself reaching for it. I’d unlock my phone, stare at my home screen and realize I had nothing to check.
It created a natural pause. That pause helped me notice when I was looking for a distraction. I started to see a pattern. When I was nervous, bored, tired, hungry, or uncertain — I’d reach for my phone.
“Look for the discomfort that precedes the distraction, focusing in on the internal trigger”
— Nir Eyal, Indistractable
In his book, Indistractable, Nir Eyal encourages us to focus on what we feel before reaching for a distraction or what he called our “internal trigger.” By exploring the preceding feeling or event, we can better understand and combat our distraction.
This isn’t a new concept. For thousands of years, philosophers and meditation teachers have encouraged us to notice our thoughts and feelings instead of blindly following them.
The goal is not to always be focused and productive. Instead, it’s about bringing intention to your actions and where you put your attention instead of subconsciously getting sucked into distracting activities.
A strategy for bringing attention to your actions is to pause and ask two questions. How do you feel? What do you need?
Want to do this yourself?
To create that pause, think of what is distracting you. Can you make it harder to do? This may be putting your phone in a different room, deleting an app, or temporarily blocking a webpage. Create physical distances from your distraction so you can better notice when you want it.
When you find yourself looking for the distraction, ask, what am I feeling? Am I bored, anxious, tired, scared? Don’t judge it. Note it.
And then ask yourself, what do I need? You may need a real break from your tasks, some human connection, a nap, a snack, or just to sit with the feeling and let it pass.
Over time, you’ll discover patterns that you can more proactively address.
Distractions have a time and a place
I wish I could say the experiment went perfectly. I caved and read a fantasy book on Friday night. After a full work week, I wanted some escapism. But overall, the week was a success.
I enjoyed the focused time in the morning to write. And limiting my social media and news consumption had a noticeable effect on my anxiety levels. That being said, I’m grateful to have books and podcasts back in my life.
Have you done the media deprivation challenge? Share your experience below!
