What I Did Instead of Scrolling Instagram

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I’m back!!!

In case you didn’t know, I recently took a short break from Instagram and the blog.

Now that I’ve returned, the first thing I want to do is thank YOU for your comments, emails, and messages about my mini-sabbatical. Your outpouring of kind words, blessings, and encouragement filled my heart in a way I cannot explain. Having such a loyal, thoughtful, and understanding audience rocks my world and makes every moment of my work more than worth it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

All-in-all, the time away was more than I could have ever wanted or expected. I especially appreciated and enjoyed being off Instagram. I’m going to write one or two blog posts about that experience and the lessons I learned for moving forward. However, I need more time to process it all and see how things feel now that I’m back. You can expect that post sometime early next week.

Spring Flower Arrangement #spring #flowers #tulip #vibernum

During my break, I still worked, but I was flexible with my schedule and gave myself lots of time to just be still or tackle the home projects I wanted to do. Because I wasn’t constantly checking my phone and getting caught up in scrolling, the amount of “extra” time I had skyrocketed. I was able to accomplish so much more. This was one of my goals after all: to figure out a way to spend less time on my phone. I did just that.

As I continue to collect my thoughts about my time off and prepare an in-depth post or two. I thought today I’d share a list of some of the things I did instead of scrolling Instagram.

If you read my previous post, you may remember that I spent an average of 3.5 hours a day on Instagram. That meant that during my two-week hiatus, I had 49 “extra” hours (3.5 hours x 14 days).

Here’s what I did with those 49 hours instead of scrolling on Instagram:

– Power washed and stained the floor of my deck.

– Power washed my sidewalk.

– Painted a room in my house. (More on that this week!)

– Began building a more functional closet.

– Watched movies, phone free!

– Hired a business coach and started to make plans for the future.

– Created a new work schedule that I’m pumped about.

– Bought a Nintendo Switch and played Animal Crossing. (Talk about fun!)

– Cleaned out my clothes closet and donated two bags of clothes.

– Cleaned and organized my entire basement. Donated two boxes of stuff and trashed two bags of stuff.

– Straightened up the contents of my garage.

– Moved a large pile of bricks and stacked them neatly under my deck.

– Photographed and wrote seven blog posts.

– Organized all of my photos on external hard drives.

– Cleared space on my laptop so it is functional again.

– Power washed my side porch.

– Cleaned and waxed my outdoor furniture and put on the cushions and pillows.

– Jogged or walked 3-4 miles every day.

– Weeded and tilled my garden beds. Then added compost and peat moss.

– Planted rhubarb.

– Set up an area in my guest bedroom to do art.

– Plus a bunch of other little things!

Yes. all of those tasks took more than 49 hours in total. But without this intentional time off, I don’t think I would have managed to accomplish a quarter of that list.

I also wanted to quickly mention that there’s a lot to love about Instagram and our phones in general. This isn’t a judgment of folks who choose to spend a lot of time on the app or their devices. I just know, even more so now, that I want to alter the way I spend my time.

I still have a lot to learn and discover, but I know that my motivation, mood, and general zest for life were significantly enhanced by putting my phone down.

Thank you again for your support and understanding during my break.

Questions??

As I mentioned above, I will be putting together a more thorough account of my hiatus. So, if you have any specific questions about it, please leave them in the comments below. I will try to answer them in my next post.

If you want more information about any of my “time off Instagram” activities, also let me know that in the comments. I already have plans to blog about some of the things, but I’m always curious about what YOU want to hear about.

Until then, I have some new blog posts scheduled for the week and I’ll see you back over on Instagram.

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39 Comments

  1. Revisiting your posts this holiday season. I so appreciate the Instagram break. I follow a few women with gorgeous homes and realized that somewhere I lost touch with the reality of time, resources and budgets to create a home. Wishing you a Merry Christmas Michael

  2. Glad to see you back and really understand your need for the break in the first place.. a weekend hiatus sounds like a good plan. And all you managed to get done make a good list of future posts….i eagerly await the one on the better closet. Take good care Michael

  3. When I read about you conquering photo organizing I was curious about how you attacked what is, for me, a daunting project. If a post about it showed up I would read it eagerly. LOL.
    I thank you for your contribution to brightening up your, and my, little corner of IG.

    1. I just put all of my photos onto external hard drives and made several backups for safekeeping. Everything is organized by date. That’s really it.

      xo Michael

  4. So happy you’re back, Michael. I was taking a page from your book and trying to spend less time with my face looking at a screen. I just know we’d be friends in real life!

  5. Welcome back! I would love to know more about the art space as I’m trying to be more thoughtful with that space in my home right now. Thank you for the reminder that scrolling IG can really take away from so much of our to do lists, dreams and goals. And where on earth did you find a Switch!! LOL I gave up trying to find one. Love Animal Crossing!

  6. Michael,
    Firstly,Thank you for returning!
    I struggle with the same issues and I don’t even post or have a blog etc. just my own internal stuff. I am so inspired by your choices and want to cheer for you because you have so much courage to acknowledge what was happening and then took action.
    I’m inspired by your posts always.

  7. Yay! You are back…we have missed you but can’t wait to hear all about your hiatus. It sound like it was just the ticket! Sometimes a refresh and recharge of the batteries is all that is needed to get back to “ourselves”. Can’t wait to hear more about it. You rock!

  8. What makes you so special,Michael, is the way you express yourself with such sincerity – from the heart. I cannot imagine how many followers you have, but you reach out in such a deeply personal way that it rings a chord within each one of us! Each one of us feels that you are our own special friend! And by the way, your list of what you accomplished in just a couple of weeks is galvanizing!!!