Social Media was Stealing my Days
If you have noticed at all - my presence on social media & here on the blog has been scarce. I am in some what of a soul searching phase & I am working on setting down the “busy”. Social media is not the sole one to blame, but I absolutely found it carried some fault. I saw mom’s posting on IG & stories of activities they were doing. I wait for my friends with kiddos to get ready for errands & they have 2 other small people to get ready too. I see the hustle & bustle that some may complain about - a kind of busy that I pray for. However, these prayers are quickly followed with a loud & clear “how”.
What Will I Do When It Isn’t Just Me Anymore
How do they manage to get themselves ready & their children & get to their appointments even remotely on time? How do these moms plan activities & go to the park with their kids? I cannot even seem to find a second to write here on the blog let alone keep another human alive. I could not fathom how they are so busy but still have time for these things when I have only myself to take care of.
This is where the social media played in..
I had time all along. The spare seconds just got scooped up by the social butterflies over on the “gram”. I never pegged myself as a heavy scroller, but after analyzing how much time I spent on these apps, getting new ideas to try, feeling down about my lack of efforts, it all just was clear that I needed a break. Just when we get our dream house & I finally have progress to show off, the overwhelming feelings of “am I doing enough” led to “I am not going to do it at all”.
Caving Into What We All Know - Ditch the Device
My first step was removing all social media apps from my phone including Facebook, Tik Tok & Snap Chat. I also logged out of my personal account on Instagram, but kept my business page up as I have been working on the shop. Pinterest is a search engine, by the way, so that one doesn’t count… lol. After that, I set a limit on my phone to only allow me 25 minutes on Instagram a day. That was enough time to post & catch up on messages, but with clients reaching out to me there, I couldn’t get rid of it all together.
Once social media had no access on my phone, it has been life changing. Using the computer for these platforms allows me to keep a more structured schedule with these apps, still respond to others & eliminates almost all of the scroll time.
Implementing a Screen and Scroll Free Bedroom
Another HUGE thing we implemented & already need to improve on, is our screen free bedroom. Right now we are sleeping in a temporary bedroom, so everything feels out of whack. However, once our master is completed, I fully plan on implanting a phone holder system outside our door. No phones in the room. This creates more communication time together as we start & end our days together & also has improved my sleep. No more insomnia scrolling wondering why I am still awake!
Do I plan to do this forever? Nope. I already am thinking about getting back into my personal accounts. However, I will most definitely create boundaries with it. I will be the first one to say I love social media. It offers so much good & has given me so many opportunities. With that said, I think we all need to learned how to adapt as our life changes & as our worries shift. If it becomes heavy, it’s time to set it down for a little while.