I quit social media for 30 days and I didn’t miss it!
This came as a bit of a surprise to me. I thought I’d be counting down the days until I could get back to social media. Instead, I woke up on day 30 and realized I was in no rush to go back. At least not in the ways I used it before. Mindlessly!
Stats say we spend over 3 hours a day on our phones. WHAT? There is plenty of scientific data and research about our mobile device additions so I am not about to go into the science, potential psychological, or physiological damage of so much screen time, nor am I going to tell you step by step how to “kick your habit” BUT, what I am going to do is give you a few useful tips that helped me stay on track with my 30-day social media detox. I’m hoping these help you successfully prepare for and complete a social media detox.
After my tips, If you still find yourself interested in what I have to say, you can read details about my personal 30 day detox experience, below.
Alright, here we go.
- Let go of your FOMO. I am serious about this. You are not missing out on anything. One more time. YOU ARE NOT MISSING OUT ON ANYTHING! I promise you right now. Social media is like a small town. Everyone will still be doing the same sh*t in six months as they are today. Nothing new, folks. Nothing. (sorry small towns, no disrespect at all). Repeat this one, every day until you no longer feel the FOMO.
- Before you go “offline” clean up your socials. Unfollow accounts that are irrelevant, triggering, don’t align with your beliefs or moral code, etc. unsubscribe from emails, newsletters or business promos that are no longer relevant to you and just clutter your inbox and keep you from being productive. Clear it all out again at the end of your break, if you decide to return to social media. You may find even more people / accounts are not worth your precious time. VERY precious time.
- Block out / schedule specific “phone use” windowswith time limits, throughout the day. For example, 7:00 – 7:45, check emails, respond to messages, check schedule for the day. 12:30- 1:15 Return phone calls, check emails again, respond to messages, 7:15-8:00, last time block of the day, respond to any urgent messages, plan for tomorrow /review your schedule then turn off the phone. *Our phones go to airplane mode before bed and we also have a timer that shuts off our Wifi (for many reasons that I will touch on later) So, to be honest, I found the idea of this much easier than the actual implementation. I did try to stick to blocks during the day to check /reply to emails or messages but I was not as successful as I’d imagined I would be. I’d like to experiment with this a bit more.
- Prepare for the detox. Just like a weight loss detox, you need to prepare before you start. You may feel a bit lost without your social media connections. Which means you REALLY need to try a detox! This also means, you must prepare for your downtime. Sounds silly but it’s real. Use this “extra” time to be productive. Maybe you never get to meditate, exercise, read, paint, etc., because you’re “too busy,” Do you know how fit & strong you can actually get in 15 minutes a day? Imagine if you took two 15 minute breaks to exercise instead of scrolling through your phone. If you think it’s impossible to get fit in such a short time, have a look at my home workoutsfor some serious butt kicking inspiration. Catch up on work assignments, or clear out your 10 million photos, take a walk, read a book, sit with your child and just observe them, get creative. Find anything to fill this time void. Trust me on this one.
- Put your phone away. When you are not using your phone, put it somewhere out of reach, better yet, out of sight. Putting your phone away removes the temptation to “touch.” You don’t fill a fridge with junk food if you’re going on a weight loss diet, right?! Remove the temptation all together!
If you’re thinking, “but I need it for my camera for xyz.” You don’t! Not one single person needs 89383 photos of their meal, child, dog, grass…. You get it. Give it a try!
None of these tips are groundbreaking, but it always helps to have a checklist or plan of action. Sometimes we get a little lost along the way and need a little reminder that we are not alone. That’s ok, we aren’t aiming for perfection. Just being more mindful of how we spend our time is a step in the right direction.
My relationship with my son happened to be the catalyst for my recent detox. I became consciously aware of my addiction when my child started hanging on my legs as I stood at the counter with my phone plugged in… I wasn’t even doing anything productive. Just scrolling. I consciously started to pay attention to my phone usage. I noticed I was grabbing my phone at completely unnecessary times. At his meal times, play time, while out for a walk… while he was learning to talk, walk, put a circle shape in a circle hole… what the heck have I become? Who is this phone fiend? Surely, it couldn’t have happened to ME, too!
I am so blessed to work for myself and spend the majority of my time with my son. It is important for me that I am present when he reaches all his important milestones. I want him to know I was there for his first roll, crawl, word.. you get it. Now, physically, I was there. How present I was is a completely different story. Here I am, living my “dream” of being home with my child, except, I’ve never been more disconnected! Time to get my Sh*t together ASAP!
Squaring myself up is never easy but always necessary if I want to change a behavior. I informed my people that I was going on a social media detox. One month. Completely committed to ending my mindless scrolling for 30 days. I really wanted to see if it would change anything for me. boy oh boy, did it!
Not so Positive:
According to Rescue Time blog, Most people spend about 1 minute and 15 seconds on their phone each time they pick them up. This means we’re losing 37.5 minutes a day during working hours to our phones (at a minimum). WTF!!?! Just picking up our phones!
What I found most challenging wasn’t leaving social media, it was the actual device addiction. This shocked me and I was not prepared for that. I’ll dive into that more in my next blog post.
Positive:
My mood was much better. I had much less self-doubt about EVERYTHING. My role as a mom, a wife, a business owner, etc. I had less stress about my body, what I’m wearing, what dinner I’m making, what “goals” I’m reaching… I found that I had a huge sense of relief. My creative juices started to flow freely. I began a journey into healing parts of my past that I thought were buried too far to ever uncover. I fell in love with my physical fitness again. I freed up more time to be a better wife, a better mother, better friend and better teacher. I was able to serve my family in ways that are impossible when you are comparing your life to someone else’s.
Until then, let me know if you decide to give the SMD a go. I’d love to hear how it went for you.
xx
