My Reason Why

I was scrolling on YouTube in the early afternoon of Sunday- August 22, 2021, and I came across an announcement from one of the YouTubers I’m subscribed to: Plant Based Princess. Her YouTube channel is “A digital space on consciousness, health, and wellness in the form of creativity.”.

She announced that she’ll be doing a 7-day social media detox through her brand: For The Healthy Hoes, and I immediately decided to jump on the opportunity.

For weeks leading up to seeing the announcement, I was feeling very overwhelmed, insecure, and too consumed by what other people had going on in their lives. I wasn’t intentionally tuning into my own life. Also, the news and media is just depressing as hell. So in retrospect, this announcement was a sign from God.

At 9:55 PM Sunday night, I logged out and deleted all my social media apps: Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I kept Snapchat and Pinterest because I use Snapchat as a messenger app, and Pinterest as a means of inspiration.

*note: I refrained from watching anyone’s Snapchat stories during this detox. I got on to send/read messages, and then I got off of it.

Detox Plans/Goals

Let’s keep in mind that I was averaging 7 to 8 hours of screen time prior to this detox. Peace of mind was the main goal.

Day One: 08-23-21.

The AM // I really had to fight the urge to open Instagram when I woke up (even though I had deleted the app already). But once I got up and got myself to work, I wasn’t thinking about social media anymore.

The PM // When I got home from work, I showered, ate dinner, watched some TV, worked on my blog posts, and read my ‘day one’ email from “For the Healthy Hoes”. The podcast episode ‘Oprah Winfrey: Your Own Truth’ was shared to us to listen to and it was so uplifting.

23:27mins and after really got to me (in the best way!), I was so moved.

I began winding down for the night at 8:15pm. I did a deep-stretch slow flow yoga session, and meditated so good that I fell asleep. Like I really was knocked the hell out! Lol. I didn’t get a chance to read or do any language learning on Duolingo cause I was so tired.

My Monday affirmations were:

• I am the captain of my soul.

• All the answers are within me.

Day Two: 08-24-21.

I had a very busy and stressful day at work. I ultimately decided to delete Pinterest cause I found myself mindlessly scrolling.

I got in a few minutes of language learning with Duolingo. If you didn’t know, I’m learning Spanish, Portuguese, German, and a little bit of French.

‘For the Healthy Hoes’ shared an email with Rupi Kaur book excerpts to encourage us, and they were much needed after a hard day. I did a little bit of reading before bed as well.

Tuesday’s affirmation:

• Live for the present.

Day Three: 08-25-21.

My work day was a little better. After work: I worked on my blog posts, read a book, had some self-care time, did a face mask, and ended my night with a ‘yin yoga for sore muscles’ session.

‘For the Healthy Hoes’ shared an inner peace + self-love playlist for us to listen to which was very nice and thoughtful.

Listen to the playlist below:

Wednesday’s affirmation was:

Day Four: 08-26-21.

The morning started off rocky. I had a bad stomachache that made me late for work, I was struggling chile. The work day itself surprisingly went by fast.

In the PM: A new season of one of my favorite shows ever- ‘American Horror Story’ aired so I tuned into that. I listened to some podcast episodes and did a yoga session to help me relax and sleep.

I still managed to say happy birthday to a friend without needing social media to be a reminder. Plus I’m old fashioned, I write all my friends birthdays on a physical calendar/planner book and sync them on google calendar.

‘For the Healthy Hoes’ shared a Dame Dash interview on getting paid to be yourself. He talked about entrepreneurship, financial freedom, and independence.

Watch the interview below:

Day Five: 08-27-21.

My work day ended early this day. I got off at 1:00pm for a dentist appointment. It was a happy Friday indeed!

I was so exhausted by the end of the work week that all I did was shower, eat, watched some tv, journaled, and went to sleep when I got home.

‘For the Healthy Hoes’ shared chapter 2 of the book- ‘Becoming Supernatural’ by Joe Dispenza. It’s supposedly a very life changing book but I didn’t get a chance to read through the whole chapter cause it was so lengthy.

By the end of the day, I was starting to feel like I didn’t want the social media detox to end. I was really enjoying living in the present moment and going to bed at a decent time.

Friday’s affirmation was:

• Take a deep breath, you got this.

Day Six: 08-28-21.

Saturday is my absolute favorite day of the week, and Friday would be my second favorite. Even on the weekend, I still like to get up early to get things done. I was able to catch up on movies, YouTube videos, TV shows, and podcast episodes.

I had some more self-care time. I did my skin care routine and a face mask, shaved, exfoliated my entire body, and did an at-home mani/pedi.

In the evening, I worked on my blog post, did some reading, and language learning. As the day progressed, I started to realize that I probably should’ve deleted YouTube as well (maybe next time).

Also, I customized and edited my home screen and widgets to a more simple non-overwhelming layout. I don’t plan to add all my social media apps back to my home screen.

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When Saturday night came, I got pretty bored and was really going through with-drawls. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I thought I was going to have plans that night but they fell through.

Instead, I watched some old Martin Lawrence stand up’s and had a good laugh. I fell asleep around 12 AM. No email from ‘For The Healthy Hoes’ this day.

Saturday’s affirmation was:

• I am deserving of rest.

Day Seven: 08-29-21.

On Sunday, we were supposed to have a zoom meeting about our detox experience but it was canceled due to our host not feeling well. But as an introvert, I wasn’t disappointed about that at all. Our host agreed to doing these detoxes every month or so and I’m definitely down. I think the end of the month is the best time to do it.

I was able to finish my monthly favorites blog post this day, along with this one as well. I did some reading, listened to a few music albums, watched some YouTube, and journaled.

Sunday’s affirmation was:

• Protecting my energy by not giving it to you.

Screen Time Results

My screen time was down 89% from last week with a daily average of one hour and eight minutes. 34 minutes was spent on entertainment, 30 minutes on productivity and finance, and six minutes on “other”.

Most time was spent on YouTube for 29 minutes and Gmail for eight minutes. My daily average pick ups was 11 which is down 77% from last week. And I had eight daily notification averages.

The only thing I didn’t accomplish during this detox was meeting up with a friend.

What I learned

I learned that I can do anything I set my mind to with discipline. I knew I would be able to do this detox and I did it. I learned that I do not have to be accessible all the time, and to listen to what my mind + body needs when I get overwhelmed.

I felt less stressed by the ways of the world, more attuned with self and my surroundings. I was able to be present and give my full attention to conversations, I fed my creativity, and got a little more rest.

I can’t wait to do this again!

Till next time,