3 THINGS MY SOCIAL MEDIA FAST TAUGHT ME

I wasn't sure how things would go when I decided to take 25 days off of social media. I was especially concerned about Instagram. It's been practically beaten into my brain that if I let my story expire, it hurts my account. If I don't post every day, it hurts my account. If I don't post several times a day, it hurts my account. And, I have to be honest, I lost over 200 followers during the break, and that did hurt. But I also learned so much, and gained a lot of perspective. I want to share my experience with you, and chat a bit about the changes I'm making moving forward!

I have to be honest, the biggest surprises came during the first five days. The first thing I realized was that I hadn't been allowing myself to have any downtime. Instead, I found myself holding my phone, staring at the lock screen, wondering why I had picked it up, and what I was going to do with it several times each day. It was disturbing to realize how often I would pick it up to scroll. Any time there was the slightest lull, it was in my hand. I never gave myself even 2 seconds of unoccupied time. It was uncomfortable to realize.

The second thing that happened during those first five days was an intense feeling of loneliness. I didn't know what was happening in the lives of my friends anymore... and that's when I realized that I hadn't actually been in my relationships. I had just been consuming them digitally. Wow.

And finally, the third thing I realized is that I didn't want things to be that way any more. So I made a few changes that I'm planning to keep up with.

First off, I've started letting myself exist in the in-between. Those moments when nothing is really happening. I just stay in them and let them be. And that's where the magic happens. I hear from God. I get inspiration for a new project. I see an opportunity to play with Evie. I have the chance to sidle over to G and love tap that ish. Those moments give me life, and I finally don't feel burnt out from the constant consumption of media.

Secondly, I've started actually talking to my friends. Phone calls when possible, texting when they aren't, and setting up in person coffee dates weekly. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to be in relationship and have those connections instead of consuming them from afar. We weren't meant to live in isolation, and it's so easy to exist in a facade of community these days.

In light of that, I want to be more intentional about making Simplicity & Coffee a space where we actually exist in community with one another. So, starting February 11th at 12 PM, I'm going to hop onto my Instagram and go live for 30 min. We'll do this bi-weekly and call it Coffee Chats. The idea is to have a consistent space where we can meet, hang out, talk, and actually be in relationship with one another. I'll have a chat topic each time, and share it on my stories the day before so we can all be ready to chat. I hope you guys will join me! I'm excited to be with you in this new way.