Maybe you're completely brand new to who I am so you have no idea what this is all about. 

On April 1st of this year, I decided to start a one year challenge & go social media free. I got tired of mindlessly scrolling through feeds, judging, comparing, and just wasting time, and craved a way to feel more present in my biz, family, and overall life. 

I needed to quiet all the noise. 

For me, this meant taking a step back from social media to reevaluate how I was showing up in my life to clients, friends, family, peers, and just everybody. So for the most part 6 months, I haven't been on Instagram, Facebook (not including Facebook groups aka my online tribe), and Twitter. In tandem with this, I launched my YouTube channel & committed to stepping out of my comfort zone to really connect with people via video. 

But how have the past 6 months looked without likes, shares, retweets, and follows?

Right off the top, I can say it hasn't be hard at all... like at all. I don't miss it & sometimes I even wish it's something I did much sooner!

Not constantly being plugged in has made me way more cognizant of my time!

I kind of always knew I wasted a lot of time scrolling my feeds, but now having to fill that urge with other things made me REALLY aware of how much of a time suck it was. Those moments that I feel the call of Instagram or Facebook, I challenge myself to do anything else -- homework, a blog post, film a video, try a new recipe, take a walk, take a nap... literally anything! Because I also realized that 9 times out of 10, I was turning to these platforms for the latest "tea" and just to pass the time. Now, let's say I need a brain break from school work or a design project, I'll go organize my trello or fold some laundry. I've gotten back into writing like I used to -- planning, taking notes, brainstorming ideas... just writing. There's nothing like the power of putting actual pen to paper & seeing an idea grow. Now, this isn't to say I've just done away with all things digital -- never! -- but instead of haphazardly organizing things digitally, I've now found myself slowing down to really take the time to purge my thoughts. Glorious!

But my absolute new fav thing to do when I just wanna mindlessly fill in the time -- NOTHING!

I truly undervalued the feelings of just sitting still & doing absolutely nothing. Just being still with my thoughts... or not even thinking at all. Sometimes I'll play some music, a podcast, or an audiobook; but sometimes I'll just sit by the window or on the deck & really just take stock in my current season of life.

Being off social media forced me to stop & smell the proverbial roses. 

So what do the next 6 months look like for me? Still pushing along how I have been. Building my email list & YouTube channel so I can really talk to yall there. Continuing to blog about things that make my heart flutter. I've even been working on my Pinterest strategy. 

And for those of you in the back of the class wondering why I still use Pinterest & YouTube, I'm here to tell you that they're search engines, not social media platforms. 

But I want to get truly comfortable with the bare minimum before deciding to tackle all things digital.

*whispers*

I am pretty stoked about all the new features I hear Instagram has been releasing behind my back. Facebook... not so much.