It’s not easy to turn away from social media in this day age but what’s it costing you? Zach and J. discuss the toll our digital life can take while exploring some ways to stay healthy. You will discover how the guys have approached digital minimalism in their own life and more:
- Some of the exciting things happening over on the Patreon
- How to stay in the flow state when you’re working on your first draft and you run into small questions
- What J. and Zach mean when they say “fast drafting”
- Some of the books and TED talks that have inspired the guys to focus on digital minimalism in every area of their lives
- Why boredom can be a powerful tool for writers and other creatives
- Why social media isn’t necessarily the essential marketing tool you think it is + no, people really won’t notice when you’re gone
- Who you should communicate with on social media (hint: it’s not readers)
- Why it’s essential to build a platform you have complete control over
- The negative impact social media can have on your mental health and the dangers of comparisonitis
- Why success shouldn’t be defined by a dollar amount
The Career Author Podcast is a podcast where co-authors J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon share their struggles and successes as full-time authors, advice for improving your writing craft, and honest discussions of what it takes to build a successful career as an author.
Thanks to our newest Patrons: Kevin Partner, S.G. Seabourne, Amy Padgett, Lon Varnadore (upped pledge)
Get exclusive bonus content by supporting The Career Author Podcast on Patreon at www.patreon.com/thecareerauthor
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Links:
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DBRBP7G/
Essentialism by Greg Mckeown – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G1J1D28/
Quit Social Media TedTalk by Cal Newport – https://youtu.be/3E7hkPZ-HTk
Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health TedTalk by Bailey Parnell – https://youtu.be/Czg_9C7gw0o
Reedsy Discover (use THECAREERAUTHOR discount code and save $10) – https://reedsy.com/discovery
Take our first annual listener survey by April 30th and be entered to win a stack of books on writing and craft. – https://thecareerauthor.com/survey/
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Comments
16 responses to “The Career Author Podcast: Episode 66 – Digital Minimalism for the Career Author”
Morning guys. Love your way today J. I use red text to make it easy to find. When I am not in writing mode I can scan through my text to immediately find these issues. If I can’t find a quick answer I add the problem to an editing notes document in Scrivener for later attention.
Digital media… 😱 I hear you Zach. What you say about no longer being on FB etc. reminds me of the philosophical question “If a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?” I’ve updated it – If I leave FB and nobody notices do I exist?
By the way Zach 😭 I’m your friend.
I loved your discussion today. Whatever happened to Google+? I invested time in believing it would be the next big thing for writers but it never delivered. My phone is a phone. I text and WhatsApp family. I use it for weather reports and sports scores when I am out, but often I forget to take it with me.
One of my pet hates is being with people who are constantly checking their phone – it’s so rude. Another annoyance is when a D list celebrity says they are going off social media for a week and it makes the news. What? Get a life.
The soapbox is getting wobbly now so I’d better climb off it.
Social media is a tool and like a ball of wool it can be used for something useful or it can occupy a brain with an IQ less than 50 for hours and hours…
I didn’t want to leave you out. You’re my friend too J. 🙂
Great show.
Thanks, Christopher. I’m assuming you mean my friend and not my “friend” on Facebook 😉
Of course. 🤗
Great show today! 🙂 couldn’t agree more re: this philosophy…
Thanks!
A thought provoking episode. I do have to control my urge to check Twitter too often. Facebook has a slower pace to it which helps in that respect.
I will only use an app on my phone that doesn’t allow me to turn off notifications if the benefit is really high. That wipes out a lot of annoying signals right there. Also, given the choice betweem an app and using a mobile site via Chrome, I’ll use Chrome.
This may be due to the low end phone I have but I can’t use any of the FB apps. They take over and make my device unusable. I get to FB via Chrome and can’t do Instagram, Messenger, or Live, none of which I miss when out and about.
FB is a resource hog on mobile, for sure.
Love the way and it’s timely for me. I put a post it on my desk that says “Skip the details!” because I kept getting bogged down in looking up details. At one point, I spent a good 45 mins trying to find out what a homicide detective is called in the RCMP and never did find a satisfactory answer. That was 45 mins I could’ve been writing.
In the past few months, I’ve disengaged more and more from social media. On my phone, I have my FB page manager and Instagram, and even those I check maybe once a week. FB groups made me feel like a failure as an author, which would stop me from writing. I no longer go to them and my desire to write has come back.
I’ve also become more intentional with my time with my kid. My phone doesn’t get looked at when we’re together unless we’re looking at Reddit Writing Prompts, because he loves those. And in fact, it’s story time for him and I, so off the computer for me. 🙂
Awesome! It’s nice to hear that you’re reconnecting with your writing passion…and your kid!
Didn’t think I would find value in this episode, but I have. Thank you. Today I’m getting out of two writing groups who directly take up six hours of my time each week. (closer to 12) Plus, I am writing for them instead of finishing my book. Making some changes today. Thanks again.
That is great to hear 😉
Yes! That is awesome, Peter!
Honestly, I think social media is best for professional networking. I’ve developed so many great relationships with other writers there. But it’s not a place to focus on sales & any money I make from social media is just bonus.
True!
I know I’m getting to this really late, but I had to comment that I loved this episode. I especially appreciate you both talking about how success doesn’t have to mean financial success. It doesn’t for me, and yet, being on social media definitely brings up comparisonitis. I’ve been hearing more and more from authors (who are career authors) that it’s not necessary to be on social media, so thanks, Zach, for saying that your sales did not change at all when you left social media! It was good to hear.
P.S. I’ve been going through your back catalog and really enjoying the podcast.
Thanks for the comment, Kim. And welcome to the family 🙂