At the beginning of this month, I made the conscious decision to do a social media detox. This meant turning off electronics, sometimes avoiding them completely, staying off my phone in social situations, taking a step back from blogging and social media. As much as I love blogging and completely respect people who make their living off of social media, it is not always for me. I find myself feeling distracted and unable to be present, which goes against the grain of the type of person I want to be.
One of my goals this year was to be more present and live in the moment, to live authentically and not always think about “work” in terms of blogging. This break came at the perfect time, I was feeling a lot of pressure personally and had to take some time to unplug from blogging and social media to focus on my job and the people in my life. To a certain extent, social media has become unavoidable in our daily lives. I can’t say I will never use social media, but I am trying to consciously “turn off” for certain hours of the day. Even though I tend to believe in “everything in moderation,” I found my social media detox to be incredibly refreshing and helpful.
Here’s why I did a social media detox – and how it helped
Comparison is the thief of joy.
We hear this all the time, but it’s really so true. We all are victims of this mentality, even when we try our hardest not to get caught up in social media. Sometimes ignorance is bliss – you can’t feel like you’re missing out on something if you don’t know it’s happening. Doing this that help you limit the amount of time you compare yourself to others is so, so important.
Living in the moment.
I really wanted to spend more time with my friends and loved ones and be present – not every moment needs to be documented, even if the memories are precious down the line. It’s a balance that needs to be found, and one that is different for everyone, but it was really important for me to focus on what I was doing in the moment and not always have a million things racing through my head. I took a trip to Carmel with some of my closest friends from college a few weeks ago, and we had practically no cell phone service during the day when we went hiking in Big Sur – it felt so good to be outside and off of our phones.
Simplifying my daily routine.
I’m a huge believer in doing one thing and doing it well – after all, the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. Rather than spread yourself too thin, sometimes you have to take a step back and focus on one important task at a time in order to do it well. Sometimes, doing nothing is the exact thing you need to reset.
Coming back better than ever.
Just as your body needs a rest day from working out, your mind needs rest from time to time as well. More often than not, you’ll come back stronger and better than ever. I feel like I’m thinking more clearly now and have more motivation. Needless to say, the creative juices are flowing again.
What are your thoughts on social media detoxes?
