If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the post I made back on 13th June.  I was raising the question, “do I need to make a change?”

I decided to spend the following two weeks, to really contemplate things and come up with a decision and a plan.  Well, I actually did that.

Been Here Before

When I raised this question, it led me to realise I really do need to take a hiatus from a lot of things.  In fact, I had this creeping feeling of “done this before.”

Then I remembered, back in 2020, (3rd July to be exact) I put up a blog post saying I was taking 3 months off.  I had been struggling, trying to figure out my path and was losing my love of writing.  I needed to get away for a while.

Well, that never happened.  Because 25 days after putting up that post, my sister died unexpectedly and everything crashed around me.

I then spent eleven months dealing with her death, supporting family and doing all the unbelievable amount of admin that can come about when a person dies.  So I never really did get my 3 months off to explore my creativity.

Tired of The Internet

Honestly, I am growing so weary of the internet and my damn smartphone.  Each year it gets more overwhelming and less fun being online, it is oozing with melodrama, screaming competition and curated details that gives this constant fake facade over everything you see.  And I’m bored of it.

I get so little enjoyment out of being online these days.  And I don’t want to look back with a head full of memories about how often I visited Instagram, or what videos I watched on YouTube.

I have friends who would rather I check their social media for updates on their life than have a real catch up chat.  I’ve also realised just how addicted to my phone I’ve become.  How, even when watching a new movie, or reading a great book, I can’t stop myself from reaching to “check” my phone frequently.

It’s truly embarassing when I check my Digital Wellbeing phone setting and see the pie chart of how much time I’ve spent in the day on specific apps and the internet.  We all under-assume how much time we spend on these things.

When I look back just 10 years ago, I was writing, drawing and creating frequently!  I was also running a part-time business, studying for my degree part-time and working a full-time job – all while managing a house and several pets.  So why, when I should have more time?  I am getting a lot less done?  It comes down to social media and the internet.

I didn’t join social media until 2016 and barely used it until 2018.  And since then, my productivity has tanked compared to what it was!  So I have to make a change, otherwise it will never get better.

Health & Happiness

One issue I am dealing with is health, my health has dipped recently and I need to get a handle on it.  But instead, I just sit on my butt checking social media, or watching videos or doom-scrolling or checking my emails for like the 50th time in 20mins.  Also, depression has been rearing its head and I’ve not really been addressing it.

So, I need to spend more time doing physical things, this is both for my physical health – back to running, being out in the garden.  And my mental health – crafting and creating.

What Is Staying

Podcast – I’m still going to be podcasting, I enjoy it, Rachel and I get to chat every week which is great.  We have even been working hard to get the whole year’s podcast episodes organised and hopefully recorded by the end of September.

Newsletter – As of now, the monthly newsletter on the last Tuesday of every month, will still be going out.  But it will be slimmed down.

Business – Since my Business is online, I will still be on the internet for that.  But I want to block my online working time so I can actually log off and do other things without getting sucked into any other interneting.

Chatting – I have a few friends I like to connect with on Zoom.  I will continue to reach out and have tea & chat days 🙂

What Is Going

These are the things that I will be stopping.

Blogging – While I really enjoy my blog, I need to put it on pause during this time.  This also means I will NOT be uploading the podcast posts on Wednesdays.  I need to have a complete break from it.

Social Media – Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  I won’t be scheduling anything, or checking on comments etc.  Not that comments matter, 90% are the spammy “promote this on X website” nonsense.

Most Sites In General – I will be trying to wean myself off from visiting websites.  These include news sites, forums, articles.  I just want a break from it all.

Emails

Last time, I said I wasn’t replying to emails.  Now, currently I will be checking my emails semi-regularly.  But I won’t be replying to everything.  I already get so many messages through my website, usually asking for things my contacts page specifically tells people I don’t want to be contacted about.

Creative Endeavours

This break is to help me get back to writing, to get my stories fully outlined and finished.  To spend more time creating and doing things I really enjoy.  The internet makes me miserable and saps my creativity.  So I need to stop being on it so much.

When Will I Return?

Last time I tried to do this, I said just 3 months.  Well, right now I am not putting a time frame on it though it will most likely be over 3 months.  Might end up being for the rest of the year!

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive, for all the patience and to everyone who read all the way through this post!