My 30-day digital declutter is complete! With another day under my belt, it was technically a 31-day declutter, but who’s counting. 😊
It wasn’t easy, but boy was it freeing. I truly feel like I purged myself of my unhealthy habits with technology and no longer feel the urge to scroll or fill my time when I have a minute of boredom. Overall, I am glad I did this declutter and can vouch for the fact that it really does work. If you are feeling like your relationship with technology, more specifically your phone, is holding you back, I highly recommend you try a declutter. I feel renewed, refreshed, and inspired. I took control back and it feels great!
So, what’s next?
I am genuinely surprised about how many apps I don’t miss. The ones that I will download again are Instagram, Venmo, and Target Cartwheel. I do not use Venmo or Target often, but there have been a couple times this month where it was slightly inconvenient to not have them on my phone. As for Instagram, I am going back on in January, but with some new rules and boundaries.
I am setting a limit on Instagram to 30 min. a day (AND STICKING TO IT!) I have had a 30-minute time limit on Instagram for over a year, but I would be lying if I said most days I didn’t hit “ignore” when the alert popped up that I met my daily limit. No more. I will be sticking to my daily time limit.
I am scheduling social media time into my day so that my time spent is mindful and intentional. In order to help stick to my 30-minute daily time limit, I am going to stop randomly refreshing Instagram throughout the day. Instead, I am scheduling blocks of time into my day where I can dedicate to the platform, thus making my time spent more intentional. Most likely, this will be 15 minutes in the beginning of the day to post and interact, then 15 minutes later in the day to follow up with DMs and comments.
I am logging off Instagram at least one day/week. Most likely this will be Saturday or Sunday, but depending on my book tour commitments, this may change each week. But regardless, there will be a full 24 hours each week where Instagram goes out the window.
My activity on Instagram will be intentional and mindful. I.e. if I “like” your post, I actually read and “liked” it. Isn’t that a concept?! My plan is less “likes” more comments and saves. Quality engagement is what I am after, even if that means my posts get lost in the algorithm.
My thoughts are if I ever start slipping back into my former habits, that signals to me that it is time for another declutter. The great thing about this experience is that one bad day doesn’t need to throw me off the rails. I can take each day as they come and if I need to, my phone has this amazing feature where I can turn it off. Crazy, right?!
Thank you for following my journey and I hope I inspired you to make some changes. If so, comment below and let me know what digital changes you are making this upcoming year. I highly recommend reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport before you embark on your digital detox. Here is to a less digital, more mindful and connected new year!
Comentários