Wow! I actually did it. I stayed off Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest for all of August. And I am here to say, it was kind of amazing. There were a few downfalls-I didn’t see the “first day of school” pictures from all my friends and family, I missed the news that my former cleaning lady was killed in a car accident,I started obsessively checking my email, and I “got bored” a few times. Other than that, I DID NOT MISS IT AT ALL!
So this blog is about all the tiny actions that lead you toward your goals. I have written a book that is being edited and will be published (Oct 1 hopefully) about that process. However, if you have been following the blog for a while, I also talk about “bursts” that you can take toward your goals and my social media fast is one of those bursts.
Benefits
- I read 13 novels/books.
- I increased my step count each week.
- I listened to a few inspiration podcasts.
- I cleaned out parts of my basement
- I started a new teaching job.
- I finished writing my book (it has been in the works for 9 months).
- I felt like I was choosing my life instead of having it choose me.
- I stayed out of so much drama.
- I watched a Netflix series with my mom.
- I felt calmer and lighter-the summer days seemed to move slower (like they did when I was a kid)
Would I recommend something like this? ABSOLUTELY! I actually did that to a friend of mine. She joined me on the challenge and seemed to miss it a lot more than I did BUT she also didn’t turn off her notifications so she felt compelled to reach out to people if they reached out to her first.
So here is the big question, Am I going back on it? Right now? NO. Will I in the future? Maybe. I do miss looking at pictures and seeing the lives of some of my friends. I don’t miss the advertisements, political rants, and ickiness that sometimes comes with having an active account.
Here is my advice is you want to do a social media fast of your own. 1. Turn off your notifications. 2. Have someone in your life that can notify you of news (like deaths, invites to parties, etc…) 3. Start small-maybe give it up for one day, then one week and gradually work up to a whole month. 4. Have something “better” to fill your time with. I read novels and worked on my own book. These are things that I always want to do and never feel as though I have the time. I gave myself that time by avoiding social media. 5. Forgive yourself-my friend that was doing the challenge with me found herself in the hospital one night and to keep her mind off things, she got on Facebook. THAT IS TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE! Give yourself some grace if something happens. (She hopped right back off Facebook when she got home).
The biggest takeway from this experiment was that I wanted to feel in control of my life and I feel like I achieved that. I was mindlessly scrolling before this and now, I consciously consume the electronic information that goes into my head.
To my 89 followers-thank you so much! I hope you have an amazing weekend! Try “living” this weekend instead of watching others live online-you will be so glad you did!
tallgirltinysteps 