It's YOU! Hello! Nice to see you! Here you will find stuff about living a creative life in country Australia. I create with watercolour, pen, collage, mixed media and photos. I teach, hosts workshops, collect, dream. I love cheese, travel, my garden, faffing, colour and whimsy. I am crap at time management, and do way too many things, but it is all good. Oh yes, all pictures and photos on here by me too, just saying.

Saturday 6 January 2018

Down The Rabbit Hole (and Social Media)

Down The Rabbit Hole
(and Social Media)



Since beginning this bloggy journey thing, on the 30th of July, 2013(oh so long ago!)I have learnt so much, but technology and the social media world has changed  tremendously, constantly evolving, and I feel like I really cannot keep up! SLOW DOWN! There are apps for everything, more platforms, more choice, more people, more challenges and more opportunities. There are not enough hours in the day! Tsunami of GREAT STUFF. Help!

going round and around and around... and into the rabbit hole

Time management has never been my strong point anyway (stop laughing friends and family) so all the time I could spend on social media, and getting to know all this stuff is a concern. Truly. Especially when I have hermit like tendencies too.

But why? Why is it a worry? I should be okay, I should be razzle dazzle all over it, because I get endless emails about how I CAN manage my time better, make every post and every moment count. Oh dear. But, but but... if I read all of them, I would have NO TIME to organise my time. The irony. 

too much on my plate

And emails. Those emails, all the emails! Sheesh! I am always deleting things, always trying to unsubscribe, but somehow  they keep coming. And I am not even that important. If little old me gets so many, I dread to think of all those bigwigs, important peoples, etc and what their emails look like - probably that is why they have PA's and secretaries. Maybe they have special people to just deal with emails? Email responders!? Do you think? 

So... why am I feeling like there is a distinct possibility I could fall down the rabbit hole and never surface when it comes to social media?  


many bits of me...splitting myself many ways

I am on Instagram, but have slowed my contribution to this damn platform(love/hate, love/hate, see here), on Pinterest, which I use sporadically, and Facebook for me, you know, my personal page, but also for rare pear studio, and also a page for my workshops, and I am the founder and an admin of The Collage Club, I do the Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day challenge most days (see here), and am a member of a few other great groups, some for business, some for pleasure. And then of course, I blog. And I have my Big Cartel shop. And I have a new website in development!


Is it all too much? Well, obviously, because I did not blog for a zillion years! 

My solution? So I do not always respond to comments left on my photos. I do not post everyday. I do not jump every time someone says something on my pages.

And some might think me rude. And tardy. And snobby. But though I do not always respond, I found something out. Something radical. The world has NOT ENDED. WOW! 

good stuff, real stuff

And I am trying to model to my kids that I am doing other things IRL, rather than just being on a screen. I am making a conscious effort to pull back from online stuff, and do more REAL creating and making. I think this might be a more productive and long term beneficial thing. I may not get the initial lovely BUZZ and addictive thrill of constant interacting... but I think that ultimately, the slow burn will be better. More satisfying, more fruitful.  
    
So, if you write to me, send an email, write a comment, phone me, and I do not reply, not straight away, do not think I am awful. Do not think it is not appreciated. Please. Just realise that I have probably gone off to water my plants, draw a picture, talk to my kids, do some washing, write a blog, do some painting, tidy my sock draw, have a cup of tea, vacuum a floor - or some other equally exciting thing!I will read it, I might respond. I Probably will actually. But not that minute! 

Because as lovely as the rabbit hole is, I know that it is not good for me to be there too long. I hope you understand?  


off to have a cuppa