Is it really possible to make a change in your life, minor as it may be, by deciding to take on or quit something for 30 days? If you go by this short TED talk from March 2011 given by a google engineer, the answer is an emphatic YES.
A friend of mine has decided to quit Facebook for 30 days. Of course this challenge is more difficult for some than others. I doubt I could go cold turkey, and I doubt my friend can too. Although you should never underestimate the power of “proving a point”.
The reason I’m skeptical of my friend’s success is the fact that only the day before yesterday he proclaimed he sometimes shares posts on Facebook just for the sake of getting a “like”. He’s a like-whore, for lack of a better, more PC, term.
Apparently, he is not alone. The average Facebook user creates 90 pieces of content each month, and half of the users log on each and every day. Human beings have never been more eager to devoid themselves of privacy as in this age.
His first day of abstaining yielded the following results:
- Realizing you don’t have certain people’s e-mail addresses and therefore cannot contact them not via Facebook, proving just how well-integrated the social network is in our day to day interactions.
- Having enough free time on a Friday to watch an entire week’s worth of Daily Show. Granted, that takes about an hour and twenty minutes, but I must say the world will be a more informed, if not a better place, if people gave up 20 minutes of their Facebook lurking time every Monday till Thursday in order to watch Jon Stewart’s take on current events.
My friend’s challenge has gotten me thinking – what can I take up or avoid for 30 days? I’m currently unemployed, so I have plenty of free time. Got any suggestions?
Maybe my challenge will be to think of a different thing to start\avoid each day.
Deliciously Redundant 
Write here an optimistic post every day for 30 days.
Make your boyfriend something nice every day for 30 days.
Your boyfriend
To expand on the two previous commenters: do one creative thing every day, preferably at the expense of American TV show consumption.
How would you define creative?
Anything that you produce, instead of consuming someone else’s work.
Blogposts count.
Also, on the subject of the social network, you should not throw content generation (even if it is just linkage) and exposing private details into one basket. “Share” is much bigger than “share my privates”. I, more often than not, actually LIKE the Facebook model of communication. So much so, that I fear I spend too much of my time there, which is the reason for this little exercise.
maybe you should find a job for 30 days. Do yoga for 30 days. make something nice for your boyfriend and invite me as well. write a thesis in 30 days.
let me know if you need more ideas.