01 Feb Digital Detox

So today is the day! My digital detox is over. My self imposed lockdown on all things social media has come to an end. 31 days with no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social platform.

Dosclaimer: I did of course check in on business emails and LinkedIn but no personal social media action from me for the whole of January!

I got a lot of questions, some of disbelief and other wondering how I coped being *gasp* disconnected from the world. Well honestly, it was the best thing I could have done for myself on a personal level and also the benefits spelled over into my business.

I had more time – when you open the FB app and start scrolling, it’s like a vacuum for time and all of a sudden you’ve wasted another 45mins of your day!

I was more social – ironically, because I was cut off I had to pick up the phone to make plans and the conversations were warm and funny and I felt more connected to my friends and family. When we did meet up, my friends agreed not to check in and we enjoyed a few wonderful phone-free hours together catching up and making memories.

I read more – I mean actual books, not posts, comments, blog posts etc and yes I’m aware I’m writing a blog post about the benefits of putting down that phone and picking up a real book! I’m a huge advocate for reading (maybe something to do with being a novel writing author as well as a copywriter).

I took up salsa and improved my Spanish – I have ideas of moving back to Spain one day and so I decided to indudge in a little espanol way of life. The exercise meant I drank more water, slept better and added a new skill to my belt. Although I stood on a few toes (sorry!) and earned some bruises (ouch!), I love dancing and plan to continue.

My eyesight improved – this may be just my imagination but I swear I could see a bit better. Possibly because I was looking more long distance and not focused on my screen in front of my face.

After 31days of my personal switch-off, I feel like a better person. I’m less inclined to sit on my phone while in someone’s company. I pay better attention to the world around me (which is been really good for the creative mind) and I read and write more. My productivity in January was through the roof!

When I reactivated Facebook I didn’t download the app again to avoid temptation and only log in via the website when I have spare time. I went through my list of ‘Liked’ pages and I liked a whole batch of them – most of them in fact – you wouldn’t believe how many you follow over a few years! So now I only follow enjoyable, inspiring pages that make me smile. I also unfollowed people that I don’t actually speak to or engage with at all. I’ll shut down any social media channels that I don’t really use or like and keep to my favourites now. It really feels like I’ve lessened my dif oral distractions.

I’m looking forward to a quitter, more focused digital world in 2016!

Kirsten

Photo by Kerde Severin from Pexels