The danger of social media

I have been part of a certain local area online community for sometime.

I always have enjoyed the discussions, resource sharing and have even met a few nice people this way.

Lately however, I have felt that I've spent way too much time involved to the point where yes....I WILL come out and admit...it was interfering with my life.

When I wasn't online , I was thinking about heated discussions that were happening. I couldn't wait to get back online to see the latest "updates".

 

It is scary to actually come out and write this, but I was taking a lot of things STRANGERS were saying way too personally.

When I woke in the morning, I'd grab my coffee and click on the site to see what was being discussed.

I would find my free time, or time I could be spending with my family, slipping away, where I was caught up in the madness of what was being discussed in this "community".

I went to yoga class this AM and found myself actually thinking about a latest drama going on in the forum....issues that I felt were personally attacking me and even my family/neighborhood this go around.

It was then within that exact moment of my practice that I realized what a fool I have been for so long.

I was a fool for being part of a place that was causing me such anxiety.  At that point I made the decision that as soon as I got home, I was going to delete my account for good.

No goodbyes, no explanations. 

I felt that this was a big part of the problem with this type of social media forum.....it became so dangerous that I was always having to give an explanation; always having to justify whatever I said on there.....even justify what OTHERS said on there....to people who shouldn't have the amount of power in my life that they did. Most are in fact strangers....

While people can be at their best when they are (for the most part) anonymously posting, they can also be at their worst.

So this is my way of coming out and documenting that I had/have a problem with some forms of social media, and I now will need to make a conscious effort to not let it continue to take over my life in a bad way.

There are only a few forms of social media I am going to keep in my life, and most do not involve heated discussions.

Day 1 of moving on and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted.

Time to go hang with my son ;)

Site to share

So you guys.....most of my "job" involves running groups and activities to keep my clients minds active and engaged.

Pinterest becomes my BFF most days.

I recently was pinning away on there ideas for upcoming groups and came across this lady's site:

www.creativesocialworker.tumblr.com

You must go check it out if you are looking for some fun ideas to engage your clients.

Are there any other creative sites you would be willing to share?

Financial house of order

As social workers, our finances are generally one of the biggest things we worry about.

Because, let's face it...a lot of us tend to live paycheck to paycheck, especially in high cost of living areas. Even if you're not a social worker, most fields these days unfortunately do not allow for much disposable income, so we can all benefit from savings tips.

I am planning to sign up for a FSA for child care and camp costs,  and a HSA for health related expenses. I've been tracking closely what I've spent out of pocket this past year so I know exactly how much to set aside come January

I also decided to enroll in a yearly 1% retirement plan increase earlier this month.  We had a recent visit from our retirement plan people who advised doing this each year and especially with any raise.  I was fortunate enough to receive a 5% raise in Septemeber, so even though it doesn't look like it amounts to much, it does add up eventually.  Right now I save 11% of my income into retirement.  The professionals say that we should set aside at least 10% and up to 20% to be able to retire comfortably.

That's obviously my goal by upping what I increase yearly or with each pay raise.

Today I also decided to sign up for automatic withdrawals for my student loan payment. This will help reduce my current interest rate and I already have this set up for other bills to help me save a little on things like car and life insurance.

(Oh, and speaking of life insurance....if you don't have this I advise you to sign up this year. I hear frequently of people who can't afford a funeral and other needs because they didn't want to pay what they probably spend in Starbucks each month. So do think about it. Especially if you have kids, a house, and other major expenses).

My other goal this year is to reduce what I lay out each week on groceries and Target because I feel like I go to both out of habit and not because we actually need anything.  I may even consider only making coffee at home too because when I do the math in my head, takeout really adds up each month.

I'm also going to try to use up more of what we have on hand already and do at least one weekend a month of no shopping at all.....

What are you planning to help keep your financial house in order this year? 

Yoga treat.

Went back to class on Sunday and forced myself to walk out into the 20 degree cold last night to go bend and stretch.

My knee started bothering me half-way through triangle although other than that I still had a decent class.

My bank account is also screaming right now but I decided to buy myself an early Christmas treat with the yearly unlimited package.

The studio owner was running an anniversary special on this so I actually end up saving a lot of money purchasing this way. It comes out to about 1/2 of what I normally pay doing the monthly unlimited.

Now I really have NO excuses to not get there at least 3x a week.  I'm committed now. Or at least my wallet is! If I keep up on my weekends, this is an even easier challenge to complete.

What's on your holiday wish list this year?

Is there a hot yoga studio by you that you would be willing to check out?

Hot yoga 5 year!

This weekend is the 5 year anniversary of my yoga studio.

I can't believe it's been that long that I've been practicing!

The yoga can be challenging and even difficult,  and I often find it easier to not go some days, but I always, always manage to find my way back to my mat. And I have never regretted even the most hardest of classes.

I went back yesterday night after about a 2 week break and I already feel refreshed and renewed.

I'm so blessed I found this yoga.

How is your weekend going?

Getting any yoga or other exercise in?

The problem with social work

Is that everyone freakin' has an opinion on how you do your job.

I had to tell the RECEPTIONIST yesterday that she could gladly swap with me for one week if she wanted, as she made a list of everything she thought I should be doing with my clients...

It's been that kind of week again and it's ONLY Wednesday.

I wish it was appropriate to drink wine at work.  

Social work

I can't stand the politics of it all at times.

We do good work but there is always someone to try to unravel that and make drama over things that are untrue.

Ha social work

It's been another I can't make this shit up kind of day.

So family are trying to throw me under the bus to my boss because I don't teach auto mechanics.

This one definitely takes the cake.

And it's only Tuesday!

Please tell me the rest of the week isn't going to be so nutter....

Since I'm keeping track of my yoga...

just wanted to say it was an all-around yoga weekend and I'm very proud of myself. I made it to the studio on both Saturday AND Sunday.

Saturday was a rough class.....I think I had lots of stress that came out but that's the good thing about this yoga.

Yesterday was a better class and I was super happy with myself for not sitting out at all during standing series. I was so glad I went because I came thisclose to talking myself out of going....you know...there's always tomorrow and all that ;).

Floor, there's still a couple poses that hurt my knee so I had to take it easy with them....

So glad to have been back though.  I'm keeping focused on meeting my 3 class a week challenge right now and if I can get two classes in on the weekend, I just have one to "drag" myself to during the week.

Happy Monday all. Hope your work week goes easy on you and you get some yoga (or other exercise) in.