Why I didn’t go on ‘Belshaw Black Ops’ at the end of 2017
At the end of every year since 2010 I have, to the greatest extent possible, disappeared back into the analogue world to recharge. This has been known as Belshaw Black Ops after Paul Lewis decided that just calling it a ‘hiatus’ wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll enough.
I’ve greatly appreciated these periods away from social media, blogging, and personal email as a time when I can be ‘more myself’. Why, then, a few people have asked me, didn’t I continue this routine at the end of 2017? The simple answer is that I’ve achieved the kind of balance that means it didn’t feel necessary.
There are a number of factors here:
- Switching from Twitter to social.coop half-way through the year. Given that I still get the most-shared stuff from my Twitter network filtering through to me via Nuzzel, that’s been a revelation.
- Looking after myself a bit better health-wise, including deciding to follow a mostly plant-based diet, starting running again, and taking supplements such as multivitamins, high doses of Vitamin D, and L-Theanine.
- Enjoying the sunnier weather where I live (it makes a difference!)
- Blogging in a more short-form way via Discours.es and Thought Shrapnel Live!
- Prioritising what’s important in my life. I find reading Stoic philosophy every morning helps greatly in that regard.
Today is my first day back as an employee. I’m working for Moodle, makers of the world’s largest (open source!) learning platform. I’m working four days per week leading an innovation project for them aimed at creating a new open social media platform for educators, focused on professional development and open content. I’ll still be consulting through We Are Open Co-op.
It was my birthday just before Christmas, and I’ve now spent most of my thirties working from home. There’s benefits and drawbacks to doing so, but the main upside for me is much more control over my schedule. I’ll still have a lot of autonomy at Moodle, so I anticipate that, while I’ll be away during the summer, there won’t be a need for Belshaw Black Ops in 2018, either.
Photo by Paul Green available under a CC0 license
Very interesting to see this evolution! I stepped away from social media and similar and went on a fortnight holiday in December followed by the Christmas break. I wasn’t super strict but I realised too that the balance I seem to have struck more recently meant it wasn’t actually that different to normal. I did shudder a little this morning when opening twitter to the firehose of highly charged information though. I’d like to try to blog more this year, but I think this low level of social media is something I’d like to maintain.
Glad you enjoyed your break, Oliver! I think those of us who joined social networks from the beginning have possibly taken a while to realise that we’re not in Kansas any more…