My curiosity for a social media detox started when my coach took the entire month of December 2019 offline. After spending years with my face buried in my phone for hours every single day, I wondered what it was like to be able to take a break from social media for an entire month.
I knew I had a problem, but I didn’t understand how bad it was until the following year when I decided to participate in Disappearing December with my coach. That month, I didn’t set any intentions. I announced that I was going offline and I’d be back in the new year.
I spent that entire month resting and soaking up the peace in my mind.
It became clear that I had been going full-throttle in my life for so long that I hadn’t given myself a chance to actually slow down and enjoy solitude. I believed my online customers would stop supporting me if I wasn’t posting on social media every day. Surely, everything would fall apart and I would have to rebuild everything I had created in the last six years. I survived the entire thirty days offline and came back to MASSIVE growth in my sales each month.
Fast forward to 2021, I chose to participate in Disappearing December again but waited until a couple weeks after my book release on December 3. I decided on December 18th to go offline that month. After enjoying an entire thirty days the previous year, I was anxious to go offline this time. I prepared a list of everything I would like to do while I was away. There were so many creative ideas popping up. I became so impatient that I went offline a week earlier than I planned.
I fell in love with my social media breaks and decided to implement them even more. For 2022, I chose to go offline for the last two weeks of each quarter to give myself time to reflect on the previous quarter and set intentions for the next quarter! As I write this, I am enjoying my first quarter break and I have been able to enjoy it so much!
Here are seven reasons my life is better when I take a break from social media!
I have more time for creativity!
This past week I have written twenty blog posts, created an entire course, designed one hundred Pinterest pins, and edited my book. I have spent hours doing what I love because I have so much extra time without social media.
I find myself comparing less.
There are many days I fall into the comparison trap on social media. I doubt my work because someone else is already saying what I have to say. When I step away from social media, I have no one else to watch. I can stay in my lane and create anything and everything that’s in my heart without comparing myself to those creating similar things around me.
There is so much more time to focus.
I have dedicated specific sections of my day to certain tasks in my life. Mornings, or any time before lunch, are dedicated to cleaning. Naptime, or any time after lunch, is dedicated to learning. Once the kids go to bed, I spend all my time getting creative until I can’t stay awake. I am no longer distracted by social media every two minutes.
Sleep is actually valuable.
I stay up very late at night, but when I sleep, it’s a few hours of sound sleep. Without so much screen time my brain isn’t running on dopamine. I spent so much time using the creative parts of my brain that I don’t have any excess thoughts that I’m not using.
There’s more time for self-care.
I make it a point to take a bath at least once a week. During that bath, I turn on calming music and listen to the words intentionally. On the days that my energy feels low, I nap with the tiny humans during naptime. I listen to my body and don’t push myself to burnout.
I feel like there are fewer expectations of me.
When I’m on social media, I feel this overwhelming pull to be in all the places all the time. I feel like I’m needed 24/7. When I’m away, I only know the needs of my family and myself.
I decrease my people-pleasing tendencies.
When you become your own brand, you begin to hear tips from every person who has been in your shoes. Every person gives different tips and it makes you feel like you have to be a certain way online. I get caught up in what I think others think about me and try to be a certain way for others. I often lose sight of who I am and a social media detox allows me to get back to myself.
If you’re looking to refresh your life, business, mind, or really anything, it may be time for a social media detox.
Read my post about How to Take a Social Media Detox for HOW I set myself up for success when I take a break from social media!
Pingback: How To Take A Social Media Detox – Tamara Fogle || Blog