Break

I need a break.

Originally I needed a break from writing, so I went into my schedule and carved out a nice three weeks off. But I’m a few days in, and I need more. I need to take a break.

I need a break from Twitter.

I need a break from Facebook.

I need a break from Tumblr.

I need a break from the news.

I need a break from brexit.

I need a break from news alerts.

I need a break from Labour leadership contests.

I need a break from the echo chamber.

I need a break from the other, far scarier, echo chamber.

I need a break from being afraid and worried all the time.

I need a break from football transfer speculation.

I need a break from for.

I need a break from against.

I need a break from checking my sales.

I need a break from telling you all about my books.

I need a break from worrying about how my sales are going.

I need a break from guilt.

I need a break from gossip.

I need a break from being in fear of things I can have no personal impact on.

I need a break from 2016.

I need a break.

So, I’m going to take one. For a bit. I’ll be back, at some point. Hopefully some time away will let me work out how to come back and manage my time online a bit better. Because it’s all just … too much.

This isn’t a flounce. I’m not going for good. And yes, I’m painfully aware how lucky I am to be in a position to just shut the world out for a bit. I mentioned guilt above, right? But you might not be able to get hold of me for a bit. I just need a break.

I’m going to leave my accounts up, but I’ll be deleting my social media apps, all the news apps, my RSS reader, and I’ll be blocking the websites I don’t need. I’m going to delete any podcasts about current events, and unsubscribe from a tonne of mailing lists.

See you all in a bit.

Blood on the Motorway – An apocalyptic tale of murder and stale sandwiches, is available on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and many more.

Welcome to Discovery Park, the book of the Rolling Stone Challenge, is now available for sale at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and many more.