Taking a Break from Social Media

I was spending anywhere from 8-12 hours a day on my phone. Most of that time was spent on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. I am someone who religiously gets 7 hours of sleep every night. You do the math. That’s bad. That only leaves me with 5-9 hours a day. Add in school, work, and sheesh! Where did the day go?!

I was so worried I would see a drop in numbers by only going on for a few minutes a few times a day. The craziest thing happened. They went up…a lot. Especially on Instagram. I’m wondering if that is the apps way into tricking you back onto the app all day. Give you this false sense of hope and then snatch it away.

I fell for the trap and that’s what happened! I started posting more to my stories and wasting more time on the explore page. My numbers went right back to where they were. Now that I’ve reduced the amount I’m posting on Instagram again, they’re slowly going back up. It is bonkers how easily our brain is dragged back into these apps.

There were so many other benefits to limiting my time on social media apps. I wasn’t comparing myself to others and was just making. I’ve been producing my best work the past 2 weeks. I’m coming up with more original characters and drawings than ever before. Best of all, I’m drawing more. I find it easier to just sketch, draw, and play around. I don’t feel the pressure to share everything on my social platforms.

It was sort of weird to have my apps locked and my phone away from me while drawing. I quickly got over it when the excitement of creating and drawing came back in a massive rush. I also haven’t had any massive issues with eye strain lately. It is nice not dealing with those headaches.

So, in just 2 weeks, I’ve concluded that not being on social all the time has had a positive effect on my work and my business. I’m curious to see longer term results. I highly recommend you use the Screen Time app in your iPhone’s settings (I’m sure there is an android equivalent to this).

I have it set up so everyday I get 5 minutes on my apps. Then it tells me “times up!” and I have the option to stay on one more minute, remind me in 15 minutes, or ignore limit for the day. This is the perfect cure for doom scrolling. Relaxing on a break? Open your app and enjoy your 15 minutes. The app will kick you out and you’ll realize you’re just endlessly scrolling.

Let me know if you’ve limited time on social! I’m curious to see what others have noticed in their behavior, creativity and mental health.