Do you catch yourself mindlessly scrolling through Facebook or Instagram?
Are you spending your valuable time comparing yourself to others and being envious of their "perfect life" that they portray on social media?
Have you been feeling like your too attached to social media?
If you said yes to any of the questions above, then it is time for a social media detox.
"But Lorena... what is a social media detox?"
Let me tell you girl....
A Social Media Detox is basically just taking time off of social media to reset, relax, and be able to focus on "real life" and the things that matter most to you.
"Okay so I need to do a Social Media Detox, but how?"
Don't worry, I got you...
Step 1: Decide that you are going to do a Social Media Detox and how long you are going to do it for
- Make up your mind that you will be off of Social Media for a certain amount of time. Take however long you need. You may want to start off with a short amount ( a day or two) of time and you can extend it if you need to.
- Ex: I normally will do a Social Media Detox on the weekend, because I work on my online businesses on the weekdays. So I will make up my mind that on that specific weekend, that I will be off of social media from Friday night until Monday morning.
- If you work online and are usually always available for your clients or prospects, make a post or let them know that you will be doing a detox and give them a time frame. This will give you a peace of mind knowing that you don't have to worry about someone needing you while your gone,
Step 2: Delete your social media apps.
- Go to each of your social media apps on your phone (Facebook, Instagram, etc) and delete the app from your phone.
- This doesn't mean to completely delete your social media account, just removing the app from your phone so you can't access it so easily.
Step 3: Spend your time doing the things that you really want to do
- Maybe you are wanting to spend quality time with Family, away from the distractions of Social Media.
- Maybe you want to have "me time" and you just want to binge Netflix, or have a spa day, or whatever you want to do.
- Maybe you have some work that you need to get done without distractions of Social Media.
- Maybe you want to take some time to pray, reflect, and strengthen your relationship with God.
- However you want to spend your time, just do it. Don't beat yourself up over it. It's not going to be the end of the world if you aren't available and on Social Media for a few days. Your friends, followers, prospects, clients, etc. will still be there when you get back,
That's it! Once you've completed these three steps, you've done a Social Media detox.
Things that may happen while your Social Media Detoxing:
- You may catch yourself clicking where your Social Media apps were 100 times during this detox. I still catch myself doing it frequently when I'm on a detox and I just laugh at myself.
- You may get the urge to download the apps again. Fight it. If you absolutely feel like you need to check your Social Media, then go through Safari or Internet Explorer, etc and log in that way and check it. This is more inconvenient, but that is the point. You'll notice that you are checking less often because you don't want to keep logging in that way.
- You may feel at peace and relaxed.
- You may be more productive than you've ever been before.
- You may get rejuvenated and ready for whatever comes your way.
- You may realize that there are things that are more important than Social Media.
- You may come back with all of these amazing ideas that you didn't have before.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11 28-29
With all of the hustle and bustle of life and the fact that for a lot of us, majority of our lives are on Social Media, it's necessary sometimes to take a step back and do a detox to allow you to relax, regain focus, and come back better than ever.
You can detox as often as you'd like. If you feel like you didn't give yourself enough time, take more. Do whatever is best for you and your life.
For me: I try to do a Social Media detox for at least one weekend every month to be able to spend quality time with Family and be able to get offline work done without distractions.
I'm going to leave you with this prayer.... I pray that you take the necessary time that you need to step back and do the things that you've been wanting or needing to do away from Social Media. I pray that you have a peace of mind in knowing that everything is going to be okay if you take some time for yourself. I pray that you come back refreshed, refocused, and that you have a clear vision of the next step to take to fulfill the purpose that God has for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille
(Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, business, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along the hot mess life of mine. New episodes every Monday.
You can also follow me on Instagram (_lorenacamille_.) I'll be posting frequently and doing daily stories. I'll follow you back :)
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