What I Did Instead of Scrolling Instagram
This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure PolicyI’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.
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.
i’m glad you are back, and love the new office wall color. i’m hoping you have clever solutions to the cable and cord rats nest that seems to haunt all things electronic and electric. carolyn montgomery
Glad you are back, you have the best recipes, you know how you get an old cookbook but out of the whole thing only one recipe looks interesting. You have solved that for me every recipe you post seems to be a favorite. Thanks for posting useable recipes.
So happy to see you back. That is amazing all that you were able to complete on you break. I would love information on organizing your photos. Photos create such a road block for me. Would love to have that task completed!
Welcome back! What an inspiring list of accomplishments! I’ve been busy, but I’m not sure that I have matched your efforts. I’ve been sucked into Reddit, and need to waste less time on it. I would love to hear more of your daily routine and how you were able to resist the temptation of picking up your phone.
I am happy you accomplished so much! I guess I don’t understand how Instagram works but I’d be happy with one post a week. I don’t know how you all keep up that pace. I wish you a happy medium.👍🏻
So glad you are back!!!!!!
So ecstatic you are back! looking forward to reading all that you discovered while away- new home project posts and recipes! I was short of breath reading all you accomplished and very impressed — maybe a post how you organized projects and got er done! : ) good to see your insta account again! 😁
Glad the break was exactly what you wanted! I just checked some of the screentime statistics on my phone…gulp! I definitely didn’t realize I was spending and average of 2.5 HOURS a day playing Plants v Zombies 2. That’s crazy pants to me. Do I enjoy PvZ2 enough to dedicate almost 18 hours to that ALONE? But somehow I “just don’t have time to exercise!” Ha! I will need to give this some thought. Thanks for being honest about your journey and prompting some critical looks at how I spend my own time!
Glad you’re back Your hiatus is an inspiration to scroll less and live more. Thanks for the beauty and joy you put out in the world.
Welcome back! You’ve been busy! I’ve been decluttering also but am hard up to find a place to take donations at this time. Recommendations?
Very happy you’re back, but more pleased with your discoveries! Sounds like you really recharged and have a new inner joy. Very powerful stuff!
Thank you! Thank you!!
xo Michael
So excited you are back and equally thrilled you enjoyed your much needed (and deserved!) break. WOW, but you got a lot done. Looking forward to your future posts. Welcome back! 🙂
Thank you, Talia! Happy to be back!
xo Michael
Welcome back! The amount of things you accomplished is impressive. Productivity feels so good!! Glad you enjoyed your break. We all need it from time to time.
Welcome back! Congrats on your amazing accomplishments list. Its confoudning how much time we give to that insidious little device in our hands yet we all do it. You must be feeling amazing. While all of these are awesome, I think the business coach will be your best move. You are doing so great with all of your work and I look forward to your future.
I want to see it ALL! What you accomplished is very inspiring, and my out-sized curiosity wants to see. Glad you took a break to re-focus and refresh and happy to see you back and see those blog posts you mentioned.
So glad you’re back because I missed you and your wonderful ideas and recipes!! Glad you took time off so you were able to regroup—we all need to learn how to manage our lives so we have time for ourselves as well as time for others. Looking forward to see all you were able to accomplish on your mini sabbatical!
Couldn’t wait to see if you would pop up this morning and was so elated to see you here! I can tell that you’ve used the time so wisely and am very happy that so much was accomplished. Well done, my fiend. Hoping the refresh has given you a more peaceful existence. Welcome back, you were greatly missed! p.s. The flowers are gorgeous!!
I just thought this morning…I hope Michael is back! Wow! What a list you accomplished! I can’t wait to see the results.
All my best, Lisa
Dying to hear about how you are making your closet more functional! I NEED that desperately!
Oh and I totally want to know about what kind of art you’re planning on spending more time doing?
Welcome back Michael! I am looking forward to more on your thoughts about your Instagram hiatus because I know I need to make some corrections in my own social media habits. I can’t believe how much you got done in two weeks!
Welcome back, it sounds like you really accomplished a lot on your hiatus. I would certainly like to hear more about your closet project. Again glad you took the time to rest and rejuvenate.
That’s an amazing list of accomplishments for two weeks. I imagine it felt amazing. Good for you. Although I know it’s a business tool for you, social media can be a major time suck if we allow it, and we all allow it at times. I try to remind myself and my daughter that the best days are when we put our phones down and live our lives. ❤️ Can’t wait to see what you share next.