Not engaging with LinkedIn in real time

I’m watching the urge to post well up inside me. It’s like an obsession, fixation, a physical feeling inside my chest. I’m not fighting it, nor am I giving in to it either. Instead, I’m watching intently, seeing where it will go.

I turned off all LinkedIn notifications recently, following the wiping of my entire social media history, clearing the writing slate for good things to come. I desired to write offline, post on schedule, read and respond to comments ‘not in real time’.

Sounds healthy, doesn’t it? That’s why today’s craving to post is no surprise. The part of me that loved being seen, being heard, being responded to, and being interacted with is complaining hard. The detox is working, yet the last vestiges of dependence remain. A primal response to forced isolation, and nothing to be looked down upon.

So, as a halfway measure, to respond kindly whilst role modelling good boundaries, this post is the compromise. We will still do a bit of writing, acknowledging the deep-seated need to do so, but we won’t seek external validation. No provocative posts, no thought leadership, no cheap end-of-post questions to respond to.

Just this stream of conscious thought, and one that probably performs poorly for the algorithm. But that doesn’t matter, we are now feeling well-regulated and able to get on with the day. The ‘proper writing’ will be reserved for another day.

 

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