commsblogmaddy-blog

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Magical Life

With the end of the last podcast I truly will miss the daily challenges and the way they make me strive not only to be a better media consumer, but also a better individual. Summarizing  all the skills we have learned I realized how many skills I have learned and are willing to implement in my everyday life. As infomagical said “no dietitian would say no dessert” relating to there is no benefit to giving up media all together. It can be an effective useful tool when used effectively. As the podcasts suggest we should just be more weary about what we choose to consume.

The projects in this class all resulted in me accusing myself of consuming too much media but by the end of this one, I realized it really is not the main problem. Consuming media is not negative by any means, but how I tend to use it is. I tend to stretch myself thin by using many different apps and as infomagical said, a bit of everything is no progress. Focusing on one aspect at a time (Magical Day) is the day I will be implementing the most.  Moving forward my philosophy on media will be less is more. Less trendy news, more focus on information that pertains to important aspects of my life. Less frivolous use of my phone, more meaningful seven-minute conversations.

I will move forward choosing to be conscious rather than compulsive when it comes to media use and focus on creating that balance. Overall the podcasts have increased my awareness on the choices I make and the choices I can chose to make to increase my productivity.

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Magical Connection

When day four rolled around I was more than ready to take this challenge on, finally  something I felt as if I would excell at. The longer I listened to the podcast, the more excited I was to utilize my new found knowledge to get the most out of my seven minute conversation. I have been able to personally relate to all challenges so far and day four was no different. I realized subconsciously I switched from being someone who used to pride themself on being a good communicator to someone who now reaches to text first. It could very well be the reason of which they discuss, that we can’t control what we say in real time. I rather sound well composed and organized in my thoughts which is something that is very attainable through text.

The anthropology course I am in this semester is a class that as you can imagine, provides lots of interesting topics to discuss. At dinner tonight I brought up in the conversation how there are these caves in southern france that hold what could be the earliest form of a calendar. The zodiac animals adorn the cave walls and then sparked the conversation that I dedicated to this challenge. My brother and I then began to discuss our belief in our zodiac signs and how it impacts the world around us. This conversation was so significant to me and was enhanced by having it face to face for solely the purpose of  emotions.  I could see how much he really enjoyed this topic and it made me feel connected to him in a way that texting could not have provided.

No words can sum up the importance of this challenge and the role it plays to enhance our lives. Setting aside a minimum of seven minutes of your day to make that important connection rewards you by strengthening your life.

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Magical Brain

Day three’s challenge was definitely just that for me, a challenge. The goal was to not consume any media that was viral but rather only focus on what is valuable to me. Proving similar to our media consumption diaries, a previous assignment that caused us to evaluate our media habits. Evaluating what is valuable to us and what is merely just  extra unnecessary consumption.

This day could not have been better coordinated with my person life. During day three I was working on an anthropology essay that required my greatest writing and researching capabilities. As per usual I anticipated the process to be quite a long one as I am easily sidetracked by irrelevant information. I evaluated how much of what of I was consuming was trendy information, and it was sickening.  Realizing my main source of news reportage was twitter, a sight where I also seem to find many memes and other pop culture information. My goal for the day was to avoid all social media besides snapchat.. I promptly remembered snapchat also offers news stories, nothing relevant mind you. Only what kylie jenner was seen wearing, or what new rapper was releasing an album. Trendy news is everywhere, even in apps where it really was not necessary.

When listening to this podcast at first, the challenge irked me. I asked myself what was so wrong about knowing what was going on in the world? I quickly realized the point was not to live without this knowledge, but rather put less emphasis on the information that had no significance.  As I am still self admittedly a media junkie I did continue to check snapchat. Although overall this challenge did benefit me by allowing me to value the information I found, and dedicate more of my undivided attention to the assignment.

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Magical Phone

If there was a support group for individuals who receive the “storage full” notification I would be the most faithful member. In day two of this challenge it challenges us to clean up our phone, go through all the applications and ask ourselves does this bring me joy? If the answer was no or caused me to truly evaluate then I let it go, there was no room for uncertainty in my “new” phone. The podcast revealed the average person has about 80 apps on their phone, I was dying to count mine. With 37 prior to the purging I thought it was going to be a piece of cake.

It turns out I found apps I had downloaded on a whim one but never had used. Flipagram, candy crush, and flipapp were among the culprits, I mean really why would a 18 year old need a grocery couponing app? Having this moment of mindfulness really allowed for more some meaningful reflection, not only for the cleanliness of my phone. Getting rid of something because it does not bring you joy is a concept that can really be applied to any area of your life. After cleaning my phone, I moved onto my laptop and realized there truly was no work to be done. I was gifted my laptop at the beginning of the year and have yet to download a single app onto it.

Ultimately this challenge was something that truly benefited me in more ways than intended. My mom always said having a clean desk was having a clear mind, but the same goes for a phone. It is a work platform and having unnecessary clutter can fog progress or prohibit growth. Learning this has been beneficial and I have further challenged the members in my family to complete this day for their own growth.

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Magical Day

Today I was responsible of tackling the task of going a full day without multitasking. I couldn’t agree more with the podcast then when  it mentions many people multitask due to the feeling of social pressure. I self admittedly am addicted to my phone and I like to attribute part of it to the fear of missing out on something important. It was interesting to learn why multitasking is not the greatest, how it is ultimately tougher on our brains to think. Even though we are under the impression of increased productivity, we really won’t be accomplishing anything to our capabilities full potential.

While reading the assignment guidelines I quickly understood this day was without a doubt going to be the most challenging for me. I could not even get through to the end of the first podcast without responding to a dozen text messages. I’m always up for a good challenge, and knowing this would do way more good than bad for me I began to brainstorm ideas. I identified myself as someone who is more affected by internal distractions rather than external. To kick these habits I was keeping it simple by just turning my phone off and keeping it downstairs so I won’t be tempted to touch. My method was quickly proven ineffective as my text messages were also being sent to my computer which I was trying to work on. That prompted me to do as it had suggested and sent a small text to my friends saying explaining my task and that when I was done my work I would be able to chat. I muted my group chats then began to work. Having that incentive to get done sooner ultimately benefited me.  

The experience overall was a positive one, as I feel as if I will begin to implement this into my daily life.  Sending the text made me feel better than just shutting my phone off because I knew my friends won’t be looking for an answer, or bring up anything important. It really gave me the piece of mind to effectively finish my work.