Tag: new things

57 Days of My Life, Lost to Facebook

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fleetingweb

Thank you Time Tech for bringing light into my life with your recent article, painting a nice picture of the time I’ve spent on Facebook.

In my defense, it’s 57 days since 2006 and I bet most of those hours can be allocated to college finals and procrastinating at the Syracuse University library. Not that it makes it any better, that’s still an average of one week a year, for the last eight years. I’m not gonna lie, that number made me want to jump from my seat and set sail in a new adventure to the unknown (or Central Park).

Here are 10 things I could have done instead of spending 57 days of my life on Facebook:

  1. Learn German, just because
  2. Take wine appreciation classes so I actually know what I’m ordering from the wine list
  3. Read that New York Times best selling book that everyone has been talking about and is not a YA novel
  4. Learn to make that delicious recipe that I saw on Pinterest when I decided to take a break from Facebook
  5. Train a baby dragon
  6. Bike from New York to Los Angeles (according to Google maps it takes 260 hours)
  7. Read the whole Game of Thrones book series
  8. Plant a tree. Actually, plant a bunch of trees
  9. Take a photography class instead of staring at pictures for hours
  10. Volunteer at an animal shelter (without stealing any puppies)

See how much time you’ve lost on Facebook here, then get on Grupon or Living Social and sign up for tango lessons or yoga, your pick.

Image credit – http://louisetaylordrawings.blogspot.com/2010/04/losing-time.html

Whoever wrote that Nike slogan, strikes me as pure genius.

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“Just do it.” – Yeah, sounds easy, considering all the complications in life and all the curve balls that it throws at you. Think about it though, sometimes it really is about “just doing”. You don’t stand in front of the cold ocean water calculating your strategy for diving in, you stop thinking about it and you “just do it” (well, sometimes I do stand there considering my options, but at the end it’s the “just do it” mentality that pushes me into the water).

Sometimes I feel like my life is a never-ending “to do” list. A new year starts and I write a bunch of resolutions that end up getting trampled on by other goals like say, paying my rent. There are so many things I want to do, but so many limitations. Whether it is money, time or energy: are these true limitations or merely excuses?

Exhibit A: this blog. I started my first blog when I was abroad in France, it had no real structure or theme, just the goal of sharing my experiences at the moment. I wrote whenever I had a chance and shared with my family and friends. Then when I came back home, I abandoned it thinking there was nothing else exciting in my life (tragic, I know). Ever since I abandoned that blog, I’ve been meaning to bring my thoughts and experiences back to life but it’s been, let’s say, a road full of annoying pebbles.

As I brainstormed for ideas and themes for my new blog I kept thinking:

·         What’s my goal?

·         Who do I want to talk to?

·         How often will I post?

·         What am I going to write about? NYC experiences? Life challenges? Latinos? PR?

·         Will I follow a certain posting structure? Will I share personal details?

“JUST DO IT”.

I’m a 23-year old public relations professional still gaining traction on the field. I should not let strategy and branding keep me from doing something I love: writing. What’s my goal? To express my thoughts, ideas and experiences. Who do I want to talk to? Whoever wants to listen in. I will write about what moves me, what strikes me, what motivates me and what simply delights me.

Sure, maybe one day I’ll launch a full blast branded blog with a specific audience that PR pros will fight to talk to, but for now I like this flow and I’m going with it.

-jumps into the cold water-