What I Learned From Taking a 30-Day Social Media Sabbatical
What do you do out of habit?
Are you on social media for your business just because everyone else is?
What if you questioned its legitimacy and usefulness in your life?
What would be true for you? Let’s explore this together...
In the first part of this article, I will share why I felt inspired to take a social media sabbatical. In the second part, I’ll share some learnings and tips if ever you want to explore this topic yourself.
This is not about breaking up with social media. It’s about optimization and attending to your spiritual needs. And optimization can come in many forms!
WHY I NEED OCCASIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA BREAKS
Last April, I deleted all the social media apps from my phone and took a 30-day social media sabbatical.
This was the culmination of a month-long reflection on my lifestyle and how I used my time. I needed a reset to redefine how I wanted to exist online and offline and to re-evaluate my habits. Several reasons inspired this change:
It was important to me to honor a mindful life and flow with it. When we are continuously online, we end up making poor choices about what we give our attention to. It’s easy to default to mindless internet browsing and miss the beauty in the moment. If I miss what my son is saying because I’m staring at my screen, I know I’m violating my value of conscious parenting and motherhood. I want to live with integrity and lead by example.
What would you do with 5 to 10 extra hours each week? I knew I would do a lot with it! I wanted to give myself the space and time to explore and harness my creativity. I realized if I quit social media, I would easily be able to find 20 extra hours a month, as well as more headspace. Sometimes, as I was scrolling social media, I wondered, "If I were to redirect this creative flow toward creating something greater and long-lasting, what would that be?"
Deep inside, I wondered if this daily habit of browsing through and posting on social media was molding my brain and changing me into a shallow person. You produce content that gets instant gratification (or not) and you move on to the next piece of content. It’s like a hamster wheel - you have to keep up the pace and you’re always running! This puts boundaries around your ability to think and create, causing you to do so only for short-term gain, and only touching the surface of the subjects.
Finally, my decision to take a sabbatical was about my mental well-being. Whenever I started to spend too much time on social media, I could feel it starting to invade my peace of mind, and also my capacity to think independently.
In the end, it was so much easier than I thought it would be. Since I was using Instagram daily, I thought I was addicted and that it would be painful not to open and check my feed.
Honestly, I was surprised to find that, most of the time, I didn't even remember where I had put my phone because I used it much less. Without social media apps, there was no incentive to have my phone with me.
The time off allowed me to explore what I wanted to do without distractions.
Quitting social media cold turkey helped me find the answer.
I focused on harnessing my product staircase and built a group coaching program that turned out to be a success. I also started a one-on-one scholarship program, took a course on writing a book, and wrote one on time management, which is currently in its final design stage.
Honestly, there were only benefits, no drawbacks. In fact, the one annoyance was trying to go back to using social media. By that point, I had lost my mojo, and it took some time for me to get back into my content creation groove.
So this time around, I will not commit to a specific retreat duration and will stay open to where this experiment leads me. Thus, I'm being a little more intentional about how I leave my feed and highlights this time around - so you’ll have a way of knowing who I am, what I do, and where you can find me.
6 TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS WHILE TAKING A SOCIAL MEDIA BREAK
If you, too, feel inspired to take a social media break, here are 6 tips to make it easier and how each one changed me and my business:
Be ready to say NO and miss out
Many programs include a community feature, and often these are built into Facebook. So be ready to say NO and miss out a little on something more substantial. Personally, I decided not to join any programs that require me to be in Facebook groups so as not to miss any important information.
How this changed me: When I launched my group program, my clients appreciated that I asked whether they wanted a community and where they wanted it to be hosted. By popular demand, we went without one so they could focus on the actual work.
“Forget” your phone
I charge my phone in the living room at night and don’t check my messages until I’ve had breakfast and am ready to start my day. In the morning, when I wake up, I reach out for a glass of water and my Kindle. Being able to read really gives me a sense of nourishment and fills my cup so I can start the day right.
How this changed me: During my last social media break, I often forgot my phone when I stepped out. Going out even for as little as an hour without my phone restored my energy and freed my mind. It was exhilaratingly liberating.
Can you physically separate yourself from your phone? How do you feel when you do that? Being constantly online can be exhausting! I believe we all need some time to recharge and restore our energy.
Sign up for newsletters from people you want to learn from
There was no other way for me to know what the people I followed were doing. I signed up for newsletters from those I wanted to hear from and who had a newsletter, so I didn’t have to go on social media to learn what they were up to.
What I learned: I might be biased, but people I relate to and thought leaders I admire are not necessarily active on social media; some have even deleted their social media accounts. They write books, newsletters, and articles and have thriving businesses.
Seek meaningful connections
The desire for social connection is satisfied when we scroll through social media and “like” what our friends and other people post. We feel that we are “connected” to them, and this fulfills our need to belong.
What I learned: When I stopped using social media, I craved interaction with others and began to seek deep and meaningful connections. This naturally led me to reach out to small groups, seek more collaborations, and connect with friends and collaborators.
Diversify your marketing channels
The first reaction I usually get when I suggest a social media break is, “But I have to be on social media to find clients.”
How did people find clients before the social media era? You don't have to rely on social media for this. There are so many ways to explore; you can leverage the power of referrals, build collaborations and affiliate partnerships, activate your personal network, share an evergreen lead magnet funnel, optimize your website for SEO, share value-driven content, and so much more!
What I believe: When you release yourself from the hypnotic power of social media, you might enjoy experimenting with more sustainable avenues to find clients.
There’s no magic formula, and we should not put all our eggs in the same basket. Leveraging two or three strategies simultaneously will yield a compound effect.
Communicate with your family, clients, and friends
I announced to my followers on social media that I was going to step away. I changed my bio to say, "Please, no DMs, email me." Before my break, I encouraged people to sign up for my emails. I told my husband so he wouldn’t send me posts. My clients have a dedicated communication portal with me through Voxer, so it's distraction-free.
I believe that there is no right way to "reset." Some people delete their social media apps every other day or every other week. Some delete their social media forever. Others just want to take a break for a couple of hours each day.
CONCLUSION
Full disclosure: I’m a tech nerd and love using Instagram. It's one of my preferred outlets to express myself creatively. But I commit to taking extended social media sabbaticals to challenge myself and renew my vow to lead a purposeful life.
If you want to harness your creativity and harvest the fruits of your many years of studying, serving others, and honing your craft, and if you feel that you need a time-out, I invite you to follow your heart and experiment with less time on social media.
Can you go a weekend without checking in? A week? More? Try it and see if it helps you feel restored.
What will you discover on the other side? Will it be greater than the short-term benefits of scrolling through your phone? You won't know until you try!
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