I took most of the month of March off of social media - I did have to check a few things and respond to a few people, but for the most part I didn’t use it. I just did other things. But
it’s not just instagram that provides the distraction - it's everything - news alerts, text messages, slack notifications, etc. I used the “do not disturb” function on my phone so that the constant text messages aren’t interrupting me while I'm doing something else and I deleted apple news off my phone. I took slack off my phone. I log into the New York Times once in the morning to check in on “news” and then that’s it.
It's so interesting to me how often we pick up the phone - to kill time, to procrastinate, to numb ourselves. And I've been thinking of all the things we do to numb ourselves or distract ourselves - scrolling; watching; consuming alcohol, marijuana, food… So I Just encourage you to be aware of why you are picking up your phone, why you are mindlessly snacking, why you are pouring yourself a glass of wine, etc.
And I've been thinking about how instead we can focus on movement or stillness - instead of picking up the phone, going for a walk. Instead of scrolling, sitting in the sauna or journaling. Instead of watching, getting on your yoga mat or picking up a book.
But I’ll be honest - our business may have suffered while on my self imposed break. Certainly the algorithms don't agree with time off from these machines. But my body & mind sure appreciated the break. Overall I find myself in a 100x better place than before - in a much more peaceful state of mind and so much more engaged with my family and SO inspired to make time for what matters most and make the most of each day. I had so much more time for card games and books, yoga and daily walks and cooking. I felt like it honestly freed up HOURS a day to play, create, rest & connect.
This award acceptance speech by writer Michaela Coel resonated with me recently. “…for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while and see what comes to you in the silence.”
Bottom line if I am not distracted I can love the people around me tremendously better and honor my self-care well. And with more silence, comes more creativity.
ps - You can read more about my mini sabbatical here on my new Substack newsletter.
