There wasn’t this huge epiphany or a specific reason as to why I decided to take a hiatus from social media. What I knew is that for years I wanted to spend more time at home, with my kids, with my husband, doing nothing, enjoying family time. Social media is fun, its interactive, it keeps you up to speed with the latest news stories and the latest tik tok dance challenge but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic I craved time to simply think without all the outside noise. Seeing the news stories via social networking surrounding confirmed corona virus cases, the need to wear masks in public, the failing economy and the rising death toll heightened my anxiety. The fact that the careful balance of our lives-personal, financial or otherwise could be broken at any moments notice was and is terrifying to me. I knew that the only way to control my feelings of anxiety and worry would be to eliminate the way in which I was receiving information which was largely via social media.
I decided I would put promoting The Stay Haven on hold. I didn’t put out any new content because I didn’t feel it was needed during such a scary time for all of us. I didn’t feel the need to stay connected just for the sake of my business. I knew that it would serve me well to focus and work on projects without the distraction or pressure of social media and to come back to my work refreshed, thankful and with a new outlook.
So you might ask what did I do what all my free time? Well I spent a majority of my time working my regular 9-5 job, exercised a great deal (losing just over 25 lbs since quarantine began), enrolled in an online Interior Design course at a local college and finished off some much needed projects around my home which I will share with you soon. I spent much needed time bonding with my daughters Parker and Scout and assisted my husband with his business ventures. I wouldn’t say that my anxiety was totally eliminated or resolved by taking a break from social media, but I was able to focus more. I was able to get back to who I am, a self-proclaimed Homebody. I cleaned, I organized, I napped (I haven’t done that in years) and loved on my family. A pandemic was not the way in which I thought I would be afforded free time with my family but I’ve learned to take the good with the bad.
Overall, it was great for me to unplug from the world. I kept in contact with a lot of friends and acquaintances through regular ole text messages. A lot of people reached out to me noticing my absence from social media and expressed concern, I’m very appreciative of that and it made me feel loved.
I would encourage you all (especially my fellow homebodies) to take a Social Media break from time to time. You might not go full cold turkey like I did but you can try limiting your use to social media during set family time (i.e. meal time) or only utilizing social media during set time frames in a day. My social media hiatus gave me the opportunity to really focus on the things that are important, my family. I think my kids and my husband enjoyed me being fully present in the moment instead of having my phone in my hand scrolling for hours. Coronavirus has shaken our world up, its postponed nearly every social event I had planned for the spring and summer but ultimately its put the value of relationships and time in perspective and for that I’m thankful.
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