So, 2020! Or… the year I learned how to sleep properly by walking away from the social media feed in my quest for peace. Well. Kind of. I’m still a work in progress. I haven’t deactivated any accounts yet. I know social media is useful and I don’t plan on walking away forever. But I will probably never return to partake the way I used to. Time will tell…
Because… I have discovered the peace of mind that comes from tuning out the myriad voices that have arisen, this year in particular, full of passion and urgency. I’m not discounting the messages. Voices are important. As well as our freedom to use them. I’m simply choosing how much of the noise I carry home with me. And into the night.
Australian Bushland, This Aussie Writer’s Slow Lane ~ Winter 2020
For years, compounded sleeplessness has robbed me of many good writing days. Add to that the extra concerns that flood us during a worldwide pandemic, a mother’s heart for her family, and the threads of a story just begging to be told… and you have an overstimulated, overwhelmed, overtired author.
After months of extra-anxious Covid-Era sleeping, I recently tried something new. I walked away from Facebook and Instagram. The next day, I walked away from the drip, drip, drip of the news feed I’d come to rely on. I also tweaked my sleeping routine to include all the calming efforts vigilant parents employ to settle their babies.
An early night. Soft lamp-light. An engaging bedtime story. Steaming chamomile tea. Blue-light glasses, and earlier in my day…. a long, long walk to tucker me out.
Australian Bushland, This Aussie Writer’s Slow Lane ~ Winter 2020
What did I reap in return?
I now fall asleep almost immediately. And I stay wrapped in the thick of sleep most of the night. If I wake, it’s not with an anxious jolt. And I don’t lay there, starring at the ceiling, my mind revving like a wild engine with no where to go.
This means I’m alert and refreshed when I awake. And ready to write.
If you think this sounds like some kind of a hack I played on my body and mind… you’d be right. I can sink into my writing early each day. And I walk away mid-afternoon, happy to count the good words I’ve added to the page. The voices that get my attention first are those of my characters, and at the end of the day when I fall asleep it’s their continuing story that I dream about.
Writing from home has taken on a new meaning, with beloved family members also working from what was once my space. I’m happy to share. And happy to explore other options, too. I recently spent a few days by Australia’s famous Yarra River in the Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte. Just for a change of scenery.
Because if you’re going to take yourself into the slow lane… I figured it may as well look this beautiful.
Australian Bushland, This Aussie Writer’s Slow Lane ~ Winter 2020
*Have you found a good sleeping hack/regime for insomnia?
*Have you ever done a social media detox?
*Have you had to slip into the slow lane in ways you didn’t anticipate in 2020?
Sending peace and love to my Ink Dots friends ~ whether you’re cruising the fast lane of life, or you’ve turned off into the slow lane, like me.
Blessings,
Dotti
PS – I’m not disappearing altogether. I will always be here on my website journal page. You can email me at any time. And if you sign up for my Ink Dots email, you’ll get all my book news, in your inbox, once a month.
