Put down that phone, girl!
Yes, that is something that I often have to tell myself. You’re seeing a direct communication between my mind and my body. Between my mind and my right hand. Instructing myself to put away that electronic device I’ve become somewhat addicted to.
I do want to say that I do love social media and see it as a necessity in my life. However, it was time for me to change my relationship to it. I use social media for work. I use it to connect with clients, followers, friends and family. To learn about programs, coaches, product launches, etc. There are so many ways it can be used that is beneficial to us.
However, lately I was finding that I’d spend more time getting lost in other people’s lives. I wasn’t using it consciously. I wasn’t using it to benefit my life. I was using it as an escape.
My addiction was preventing me from writing. Preventing me from being present with my family. Preventing me from being in the moment. So, I did what anyone would do (right?!) and went cold turkey.
I went on my first social media detox and this is what it taught me:
My photos were now my go-to
- The first couple days were the hardest. I found myself still reaching for my phone and because I couldn’t open the apps, I quickly found myself scrolling my photos. I ended up looking at baby photos a lot of the time.
Fog free brain to write
- So often when I sit down to write, I’d have procrastinated by being on Instagram, that my words felt influenced by others. Now, I was writing words that were mine.
So much time
- This is a huge one. The time it freed up was huge. Have you looked at your weekly phone use reports? It’s actually shocking (at least, I thought mine were). A lot of it is spent connecting with others, however I admit, a large part is also spent scrolling. This time was now used to read a book, go for a walk, or even just sit and take a breather before jumping on my phone immediately.
Me and my dreams
- I had time to sit with my dreams. With my vision of success. With my vision of the future. I’d often be on Instagram and feel unworthy. Not good enough. Or feel that I would never get to where others are. By not allowing that in, I was able to come back to me. I had honest conversations with myself. Knowing that I was on the right track. That everything what happening just the way that it was meant to. Plus, I used it to close my eyes and dream a little…
Using social media for me
- This was my biggest reminder and though I probably knew this going into it, I needed the break to really have it hit home. I now am much better at consciously absorbing rather than mindlessly scrolling. The break has helped me get here. Reminding myself that social media is there to serve me and not the other way around.
If you’re wondering whether I’ll be able to maintain this well into the future? Great question! I found myself very quickly slipping back into scroll mode. So now, I’m taking regular daily breaks. Putting my phone away for half a day. A full day. Alright, maybe just an hour. But it’s something. It really does help me clear out my mind and reset that need to scroll.
For those curious on how I was still able to use my phone and not delete the apps, I changed the settings on my Iphone so that it would time out. There are also apps available such as Moment or the Antisocial app that can help with this.
What do you think? Girl, are you ready to put that phone away?
Imagine what you can do in that time away from your phone.
Let me know how you go!
Love, Felice