Every so often, I realize that I am spending most of my downtime scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through Facebook. There is nothing interesting to see. Someone from AmericanPatriot.com thinks Bernie Sanders is the worst. Someone else from OccupyDemocrats.com has made another Donald Trump comparison to Hitler. It's boring.

Every so often I see something interesting on social media, so it's not all bad. I got lots of book recommendations from trusted sources before I deactivated my account. The problem was, I wasn't really reading the books because I was spending too much time reading the Facebook. It made me feel bad and bored. It made me feel like I wasn't living my own life. So one morning I just left. I decided that giving it up for Lent was the best thing to do.

Every time I leave Facebook, I'm shocked at how many times I instinctively pull out my phone to log in before realizing that I can't log in anymore. It's kind of like detox. After a week of trying to log in, I get used to my new routine of not checking in. Here's what I've been able to accomplish so far:

I'm getting closer to finishing City on Fire. It's so freaking good.
I set up a press trip to St. Louis.
I started managing a few content projects for a healthcare company.
I played four of The Eagles' albums for my son.
I introduced my son to The Band.
I introduced my son to Simon and Garfunkel.
I've listened to all of the Serial podcasts to date.
I started listening to The Goldfinch on audiobook.
Lots and lots of cooking.
So much cleaning.
Probably drank way too much coffee.
Read dozens of books to Charlie instead of zoning out while he occupies himself.
I signed up for The Daily Burn to test out some patient engagement stuff. It's research for my job, but it also gets me in shape.
I caught up on all the old episodes of Teen Mom. Wait...that's actually not a good thing.
Wrote in my journal.
Checked in with old friends who live far away.

Thats it so far. I'll be back on Facebook, I'm sure. Usually I break for about 4 weeks, but this time I'm hoping to make that more like 4 months. It would probably be best for my mental health to take a break until the election is over, though. But when I'm tempted to join up again, maybe I can view this list of what I've accomplished in two weeks that I probably wouldn't have accomplished if I was staring blankly into my Facebook news feed.