Social Media Detox: Why We Need One + How to Take One

My big takeaway from my two week social media detox was this:

We need to unplug in order to connect at all.

Hear me out.

The first week of my break, I felt very lonely. I was missing out on what others were doing and it shone the light on how truly alone I am all day. I talk to myself, my dogs, I work behind this computer screen, do stories and lives, but typically never actually connect.

God bless voxer, I at least talk to friends that way, but it’s not enough.

By week two, I found that I was answering my text messages as they came in. Me. The one who usually has 100 texts unread. I found that since I was missing what others were doing, I’d contact them directly and say, “Hey, I’ve been thinking of you, how are you?”. I found that I was answering my phone calls, too. Usually I don’t because I am energetically toasted. I don’t have the capacity to keep talking… but all of this after I don’t ever actually talk to anyone?!

Ultimately, I’ve concluded that we really need to intentionally reconsider how we are showing up on social. Is it serving us? Are you getting stuck in comparison? Are you spending countless hours sitting and scrolling when you could be playing with your kids or reading that book?

Do I think social is for the birds. Nope. Not at all. I look forward to reconnecting a bit, but I realize I need to go back in with intention, purpose and a lot (a lot!) of boundaries.

One other thing I learned while on this detox is:

Getting uncomfortable is what will make change.

Okay, so that’s not new news and I knew this. BUT, I have become so comfortable in my workflow, It took me stepping out of it to really take a look at the bigger picture and how I want to show up for you and as a mentor. And I’ve spend a lot of days feeling confused and foggy and unsure of which direction to go, but with a lot of journaling, speaking out loud and taking action, I’m figuring it out and I’m excited.

I plan to take these breaks seasonally as a reset to support transitioning into new seasons and working on new seasonal goals.

So, what did I do for two weeks of no social and almost no work?

I worked out a lot.
I read a lot.
I truly saw my husband.
I saw my kids smiles and eyes more than ever.
I saw them excel at things they love.
I finally got to the hair salon.
I watched all of my flower bushes bloom.
I was outside a lot.
I did a lot of thinking.
I saw family.
I saw my lake.
I tackled some of my own demons.
I saw myself better.
I’ve recommitted to my why.

So how can you take a successful detox?

KNOW YOUR WHY

If you’re hopping off of social because it’s the trendy thing to do, or because I did it, or you feel like you have to… you’ll get nothing from it. WHY do you want a break from social? Is it to connect with your kids more? Is it to take true space to poor into yourself? Be ready for what might come up and the only way to do this is to know your why. So when it feels a little hard, you will be anchored into knowing why you did it.

PLAN AHEAD

I chose the timeframe that I’d take a break about two months ahead of time. Also, choose how long you want your detox to be. A day? A week? A weekend a month? And remember this can change whenever you want it to. My detox wasn’t just social media, but work, too. I notoriously fill my empty space with work and knew that I wouldn’t get as much out of this break as I needed. I wrote blog posts ahead of time, batched my future social media posts so I could come back with ease, batched blog posts, communicated with my community via emails, communicated with my husband, batched podcast episodes, scheduled my cleaning and laundry, planned wedding editing and all of the things so that it’d all be done by the date of my signing off. HOW on earth did I do this? Aligned Energetic Scheduling. I honestly had ease doing it and now as I’ve returned, I’m shocked at how much I actually set in place for myself to come back with so much ease. This scheduling system is a true life changer and I teach it in my signature course The Layered Growth Academy. You NEED this tool in your life to remove your overwhelm and anxiety and I can teach it to you!

GET A JOURNAL

Shit will come up. I promise you. It’ll be different for all of us, but you have to be ready to weed through it all. Journaling is the number one best thing to do when you are doing this type of challenge.

GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

If you know this will be a challenge that’ll be hard, be sure to set yourself up with someone who can help keep you accountable. A friend, spouse, fellow mentee, kid, mom, sister, brother… people love to help. Ask for it.

HAVE A RE-ENTRY PLAN

This is connected back to your why and anything you learn during your time off. Do you want to hop back in as you were? If not, take time to sit with what you want this to look like. This might not be clear until you’re finished your break. Allow yourself to move through this messiness and unknowing. The clarity will come.

PLAN REGULAR DETOXES

Think of them as resets. We all need them. It’s healthy. It’s good. Life will not stop happening. Your business will not go under. But you could if you don’t give yourself time to breathe. Take your detox. <3

Social Media Detox: Why We Need One + How to Take One