say NO to facebook

i had two exams today. and on tuesday i was having difficulty focusing on my studies. i was easily distracted by facebook and twitter and whatever else i could find on the internet.
so i banned myself from my social networking sites for TWO days. yes, i realize this is no time at all. and i have been away from the internet for a lot longer than two days. however, when you are studying anything seems like a better option. but i knew i needed to do well on these tests and i needed to be prepared. and the only way to do that was to minimize my distractions. so FB and twitter ban it was.

so now that my ban is over, i can't say that i was running to "log on". i wanted to do more productive things with my time. i called my brother. i got wayyy more out of that conversation than "facebooking" him.
so here are the GOOD things that came from my FB ban:

• increased production. this tops my list. i got more done in two days that i ever thought possible. i had two HUGE tests to prepare for. which i was already moderately prepared for, but i still had a long way to go on tuesday. but since i was not constantly distracted, i was not forced to stay up late. i even had time to do other things that were not school related, like laundry and finish addressing my graduation announcements (yay!). 
• if i wanted or needed to talk to someone, i had to figure out another way to do it. this may sound like a bad thing. but i feel like a message on facebook is not that personal. its like you see "john smith's" name and you like "ohhh i should message him!" however, if i needed or wanted to get in touch with someone, i had to use email or *gasp!* the phone. both which are more personal because you are seeking that one person out on an individual level.
• my head was not filled with pointless information that i get from FB. now, don't get me wrong, i love getting on facebook and reading all of my friends' status updates. its the easiest way in the world to gossip. i love it. however, being a stressed out college student, it was nice not to be focused on this stuff for a little while. 
• i don't feel "addicted" to it anymore. you know the need to update or check statuses every 5 minutes. (we'll see how long that lasts).
  

and now here is the BAD:

• i missed sending ridiculous pictures.
• i missed commenting on ridiculous/silly/annoying things.
• **both of these: not that serious.

with all of this said, i feel that now i can find that happy medium of continuing to share the ridiculousness that is my life and constantly being on FB. because i can update my status without having to access the website. so i can do the things i missed without being online all day and thus getting things accomplished.

so, i encourage you to spend LESS time online and MORE time with those you love. they are the ones who matter. not what you see through a computer screen.

NOW, the real test will be how i did on my exams today. you know, to see if the ban was worth it. well, if i did bad on my exams, i will have more time to get on facebook. HAHA.