On June 1st, I deleted the Instagram and Facebook apps from my phone. I decided to check Facebook only for private messages. I wasn't much of a tweeter, and I kept watching YouTube videos for ahem--educational purposes--and not so much fruitless binge watching. Don't get me started on all of the Pinterest projects I haven't yet had the chance to start on.I was excited to embark on 90 days without mindless social media perusing.
Why?
My intent was to avoid the mosh pit of political drama, parenting advice, dancing baby videos, tutorials for crafts that I would never find time for, and pictures of spiders as big as my face. And this is just from my Facebook feed.
I recently unfollowed several Instagram accounts that I had started following for healthy food ideas and fitness inspiration. When I set goals for myself, I believe in surrounding myself with people and information that will help me achieve those goals. However, I couldn't escape the urge to constantly compare myself to those I looked to for inspiration. That's when I decided that another human being--with their own identity, influences, and unique life story--really couldn't serve as motivation to help me reach my goal. Sure, I can apply certain principles to my life (such as perseverance, hard work, and a positive attitude), but my story is ultimately my own to tell, and these principles might be applied differently in my own life.
I planned to take a personal time-out to figure some things out:
What am I doing?
What can I accomplish in the next few months?
What do I want from my life, right now?
I had books I wanted to finish, sewing projects to continue, and a blog I wanted to launch.
For the first 30 days, it was awesome. My mind was finally clear, and I was killing the productivity game. I felt like a beast, y'all.
However...
I quickly realized a few things:
1) Social media itself is not the devil. There's a wealth of information--things that serve me, or don't. Things that inspire, or... don't. It's my job to filter that information
2) I'm an adult, which means if I want to spend hours a day lost in the YouTube vortex, or taking quizzes on Facebook---I don't have anyone to answer to for that. If I manage my time better, I can make the best use of the information in front of me and have a little time to fool around, too.
3) It's hard to avoid social media in the midst of a blog launch. Social media is pretty essential to a blogger. How else am I going to share my content with you lovely souls?
I've gone cold turkey before, going a month at a time without poring over my Facebook and Instagram accounts. I think we could all benefit from taking a "brain vacation" every once in a while.
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