I'm back (again)! In my last update I shared that I put both this site and my YouTube channel on a temporary hold while Jason and I put all our energy into updating our guest house. It feels fantastic to be one step closer to achieving the goals we set out for when we moved to Charleston and I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out. I'll be sharing a complete before and after reveal soon :).
In the meantime I want to talk about my unintentional digital detox and what it taught me. My hope is that this post will encourage a larger discussion as well as a new series. In this series I will discuss little tweaks I'm making to live a happier, healthier, more well-rounded life.
Before I jump into what I learned from my digital detox, I want to say that I encourage everyone to take part in one at least once. Even though my detox was entirely unintentional (and I probably wouldn't have tried it if not by accident first), I am so thrilled that it happened. Also, I am in no way vilifying social media - I LOVE social media - I just think it's good to take a step back every now and then. Below, I've outlined a little more about what I learned these past few weeks and how I plan to implement it in my life moving forward.
In today's world digital overload is just a click away and because it's so integrated into our daily lives it can be difficult to realize how dependent we've become on it. From Instagram to Facebook to Twitter and more, access to countless perspectives, tips and advice has never been easier. We're constantly inundated with the latest and greatest around every corner and I have to admit that I'm personally torn by it.
On one hand, there's no denying that social media and technology alike make it easier than ever to learn something new, expand our horizons and interact with new people from all over the world (which is fantastic!), but it can also mean digital fatigue.
Just as we can experience a constant stream of inspiration and motivation that pushes us to achieve our best life, we can also become so overwhelmed that it's difficult to start. In fact, during the last few weeks that I've been away from social media I've experienced a renewed sense of focus that has allowed me to streamline my goals in a new and refreshing way. Not only have I been able to really set in place a plan that I feel confident will help me achieve these goals, but I've been able to re-evaluate them and narrow in on a few that I want to be my top priorities for the coming weeks, months and years. As my 30th birthday draws closer I'm feeling a renewed sense of self that I'm excited to share with you all in a post soon.
Now, I'm not saying that this is all from my digital detox (I'm sure some of this would have happened on it's own, just maybe at a slower pace), but I am excited for how liberating it all feels.
To hang onto this feeling I've vowed to take a daily detox challenge in which I turn don't look at my phone after 8 or 9 at night. To do this, I simply switch my phone to airplane mode and put it away 'til morning. I know this may not seem like a lot but I can't tell you the difference it's made.
Even though I was never one to browse my phone in bed, I have to say that not feeling pressured to check up on Instagram (especially after the new algorithm really messed it up!) or what's going on this very minute in the world has helped calm my mind and allowed me to sleep better. Instead of becoming amped up on social media right before bed I now have a few hours to truly unwind and prepare my mind for a restful night's sleep.
If this is something you already do I would love to know how it makes you feel. Do you also sleep better? What other changes have you noticed? Also, if you start doing this now I'd love to know how you get along. Let me know in the comments down below and thank you so much for following along.
Until next time,
Audrey
