For the last two Christmases I’ve taken a break from social media…just 5 days in 2022 and 7 days in 2023 and I’ve felt really good afterwards. But in December 2024 I had a pull towards coming off it for longer. It helped the way the days fell this time and I could carve out 2 full weeks for myself. Even in the week leading up to my last working day I started to get excited about it…I could literally feel the anticipation of true rest…that rest when you know most people aren’t working anyway, so the world kind of slows down.
So late on Friday evening of 20 December I deleted Instagram and Facebook off my phone and iPad completely…and here’s what happened…
Day 1 – Initial feelings on day 1 were that I didn’t feel much different…I know these things take a while to register…a bit like going on holiday and taking a week to unwind before you can relax and fully enjoy yourself. Although a thought did occur to me…I don’t need to share everything on social media to appreciate that it happened! I also went out for a walk without my watch on and immediately realised that just because I don’t have the number of steps logged anywhere doesn’t mean I didn’t do them.
Day 2 – I’ve noticed that rather than the usual thought process, whenever I catch myself thinking, it’s like I feel a sense of relief when I know I’ve got so many more days of letting go of everything that needs to go. Feels rather like time is standing still and I can catch my breath.
Day 3 – What a beautiful day…so incredibly busy with my daughter and granddaughter that I lost myself completely in the day. I feel like there’s an edge being taken off my time spent with family…like a foreboding that has gone.
Day 4 – I felt very present today with family and have been aware of not having the desire to pick up my phone and scroll. That feels like a win. I also feel more focused on conversations and what is being said…instead of my mind thinking ahead to what I need to do next once the person who’s talking to me has finished.
Day 9 – it feels like I feel more connected…I dread to think how much time and energy I’ve spent over the last few years just scrolling. I mean, I get that I need to be on social media for work purposes, but looking back I’ve probably used that as an excuse to just scroll. I also have an aversion to being told what I need to see via the algorithm. Kinda feels like social media is a thing I need to feed and I don’t want to be responsible for it any longer.
Day 11 – I feel like I’m in a period of calm, no rushing around, time is not whizzing by…it’s lasting…it feels totally delicious. My time off feels like it’s been protected from the influence of social media. Still 6 days to go. Had I still been on social media, I’d probably be seeing people’s posts soon on how quickly the time has passed and that it’s back to work soon…and that would have reminded me that my time off would be coming to an end. It feels like I’ve not had someone whispering in my ear all the time…that’s what social media feels like. Also have not really worn my watch over the holidays and although that felt like I was missing something to begin with…not any longer…I quite like the freedom it’s given me to enjoy my time, and not feel constricted by it!
Day 12 – It struck me that looking after my social media presence has felt rather like looking after a third child that needs feeding, looking after etc. And as much as we love our children, it’s nice to have a break from them every once in a while…which is how I’ve felt the last two weeks have been. Also I’ve noticed that I didn’t get annoyed if someone asked me something when I was in the middle of doing something…it felt like my attention could easily move, and my mind with it.
My thoughts…
Was it scary doing this? Well because I also didn’t plan any posts during this time…yes….because I’m a business who relies on social media for marketing. But I really lent into what I needed. I could feel it in my body…all the tension that scrolling creates, even when we do it with a business hat on. And my health has to come before my business because it’s my health, both physical and mental, that will last way beyond my business.
I was also starting to miss ME…or rather miss the ME that I am becoming, because social media and the energy it takes out of me were slowing me down. It was starting to feel like wading through treacle at times.
I also didn’t schedule my weekly newsletter to be sent out either…mainly because I send it out weekly on a Wednesday and that would mean on Christmas Day and New Years Day. But I wanted to let my readers have a break too. You know that feeling…you get bombarded with so many emails from buying online that it can get overwhelming. And I didn’t want my newsletter to add to that overwhelm. My advice? Unsubscribe like merry f*ck (obvs not from my email though 🤣).
So does two weeks make an impact on my visibility? Probably because, you know, algorithms 🤷♀️
But instead of my usual time spent on IG and FB, I reached out to people I know on an individual level and voice noted them. With no intention other than pure connection.
What I do know for sure is that we don’t just spend x hours on social media. It’s not just the actual time you spend physically on the apps. It goes way beyond that. It’s the brain space it takes up…you know what I mean…you see someone’s posted something and then you might think about it long after you’ve closed the apps.
And this is the issue for me. It takes too much of my energy away. And protecting my energy levels is paramount. Because I cannot be the best version of ME when I’m distracted or running on empty.
So where next? Well the digital age isn’t going away anytime soon so it’s about creating a way to work with it. I don’t usually post much of anything over a weekend, so I’m thinking of coming off it completely from every Friday evening to Monday morning. And that excites it…because even a few weeks ago the thought of doing this would have filled me with FOMO. Will I have to delete the apps from my phone each weekend? I doubt it…I feel I can just not check them…have hard boundaries around my weekends. Like a mini spa for my mental health lol.
However, I’m adding a disclaimer here…because if I feel a pull towards sharing something with my audience which will help them, then I’ll honour that and share it whenever it is.
During this detox what became really obvious was the fear of missing out was gone. And here’s the thing…fomo is a thought…nothing more. It creates a feeling within. And once you understand and embrace this, you realise that the rest of the world is still going to be doing all those things, and that’s ok.
At the time of writing this I don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything by coming off social media, but I will go back on because there are women out there struggling with menopause who deserve support. I feel it’s my calling to share my journey and what’s helped me with them. But I’ll go back on with a purpose…intention is my word for 2025, so I will do it intentionally.
I read an amazing book over Christmas called Untamed by Glennon Doyle and in it she refers to ‘selah’…a term used in the Hebrew Bible some seventy-four times. It’s a direction to the reader to stop reading and be still for a moment, because the previous idea is important enough to consider deeply.
So on this last day of my time off I’m sat in my ‘selah’ and contemplating what’s just happened.
My Christmas seems to have lasted forever…but that’s the thing with remaining in the present…it has no end…the present lasts forever ✨
Revive Intuitive 
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