I’ve been off of social media for two weeks as of today, and as much as I don’t want to contribute another ‘here’s what happened when I got off social media’ post to the ether, I also kind of want everyone to acknowledge what this method of consuming the world is doing to our brains. 

Also, I’m just really tired of billionaires profiting off my inability to think in full sentences while they sell my data and push weirdly specific ads down my throat. Ew, Zuck. Quit. 

So yeah, I guess I’m doing another ‘here’s what happened when I got off social media’ post. Sorry? I’ll settle down and write something about art or gardening or kids soon, promise.

Thing #1: It’s easier to find focus when I’m reading 

I love reading. Always have. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are lying on my bed on a hot summer afternoon, so absorbed in a book that I lose track of time. Jules Verne, JRR Tolkien, and James Herriot were some of my favorites at the time, but my tastes have shifted and evolved as they do. 

Anyway, last year, I wanted to get back to reading real books again, not just listening to audiobooks while I do laundry. So, for the last year or so, I’ve kept a book or three on my nightstand, and I read a bit before bed at least a few nights a week. 

In the recent past, it might have taken a full page or two for my brain to stop desperately flitting around, looking for a little more dopamine here or maybe over there. 

It feels calmer now, more like settling in to enjoy a story and less like trying to stuff an octopus into a tube sock. It’s easier to fall into the page mentally and stay there without wondering what’s happening on my phone.

Thing #2: My brain has started thinking in long form again.

I also really enjoy writing. My inner monologue has been presented in story form for as long as I can remember.

As an angsty teen, I obsessed over perfecting terrible melodramatic poetry, then channeled my emotions into rambling Word docs never to see the light of day as a young adult. 

When I started my first official blog in 2013—to document my move, along with my then-husband, into a fifth-wheel camper—I would take long quiet walks down the country backroads near the RV park and come back with so many words spilling out I could barely contain them long enough to open my laptop.

But that was before I was responsible for quite so many things (and children).

It was also before Facebook really figured out how to keep us scrolling. 

In 2013 I joined a Facebook group full of other entrepreneurs called The Start Experiment. It was facilitated by Jon Acuff as part of a book launch if I remember correctly. Responding to his cryptic email was probably one of my best decisions from that time. It led to many of the clients I have now, as well as probably half of my internet friends. 

It also marked the beginning of my going all in on Facebook, in a way. My clients were there, it’s where I built my business and brand in the beginning. It’s where I reconnected with old friends and made new ones.

Cut to several years later, and I’m starting to notice that my brain still fills with words it wants to share, but they’re different. Shorter. Punchier. I’m mentally obsessing over one-liners and pithy observations instead of paragraphs. 

This only got worse over time, even though starting a semi-regular journaling habit last year helped a little. I was surprised to find there were still full sentences in there. 

But I’m happy to report that two weeks off of social media, along with a little reduction in my podcast listening time, has made a big difference already.

I’ve revived a writing habit (the goal is 600 words per day each day I’m in the office), and my Notes app is filling up with much meatier content than it’s seen in a while. I was even able to build out my website copy a bit more as I’ve been updating my SEO. 

Occasionally, my brain still gets hung up on a funny one-liner or observation, but I’m able to share it with someone in real-time or text it to a friend, which shockingly makes for a more satisfying interaction overall than posting and waiting for approval via the laugh reaction. 

There’s less frenetic energy.

I am, apparently, a very driven person. I don’t feel like it, I just feel like there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done. But it’s something I’ve been told and seems to be objectively true. 

That drive causes me to pretty much always feel like I should be doing something. Especially in this season of life. There are approximately 30 minutes during the day when I’m able to just relax without feeling guilty for whatever it is I’m not doing. This is probably a separate and deep-seated issue but, you know, context. 

Anyway, I’ve noticed over the last two weeks that while I still have the urge to be productive, I don’t have the constant underlying buzz of urgency. I’m better able to mentally organize my tasks and less likely to feel like I’m forgetting something. 

I still find myself looking for a distraction, which has led to some weird replacements (I organized all my files the first week), but I’m slowly finding ways to distract myself that aren’t related to the glowing rectangle. 

There you go. That’s my three things. I’m sure there’s more, but I’ve already gone over my 600 words for today and there’s more to be done.

Until next time.

-L