I love Instagram! I love following positive accounts about healthy living, being a mom and fitness. I enjoy being able to see what my friends and family are up too. Especially if I don’t get to see them all that often. I enjoy the communities you can be apart of and cultivate just through sharing and communicating through social media.
At times though it can be very overwhelming seeing images of perfection at a moment you feel like everything in your life is far from perfect. Maybe you didn’t have time to go to the gym that day and when you scroll social media it seems like everyone is living their healthiest life.
We know with social media most people only post the best they don’t share the ugly I am guilty of that! Honestly, people look for positive images to help motivate them in their own life so they enjoy seeing the pretty. That doesn’t mean it’s doesn’t affect the viewers thoughts.
We always talk about balance in our life here at B: and finding the right balance for you. Every now and then you will periodically see Jess or myself not post as much. Those are typically moments where we are enjoying time with our families and friends and practicing being present in the lives we have created for ourselves. This is something we practice a lot of and the balance we need in our lives.
If you ever feel like you need to take a break, find balance with your phone or social media there is nothing wrong with that and here are some tips to help!
The first and easiest step to take a step back from social media is to simply deleting the apps from your phone. What this does is it makes you be mindful when you are logging into your social media accounts. It’s intentional and you want to be there. Who has without a thought automatically just clicked their Facebook or Instagram app without even realizing what they are doing? Guilty! Not having the apps one click away keep you from mindlessly scrolling and make you choose if you want to be there.
Don’t wake up in the morning and scroll! Guys, who has used or uses their phone to wake them up in the morning? I have when my alarm has gone off for the 10th time and I really don’t want to get out of bed. I use my phone to scroll to gradually motivate me to get out of bed. But why fill my mind with what everyone else is doing first thing in the morning. I want to start my day with a clear mind!
Set your phone away from you while your doing things that bring you the most joy. For example you’re out with your friends. Turn your ringer on and keep your phone in your purse. If someone really needs you will hear your phone but otherwise don’t check your purse be present with whomever you are with. For me this is huge when I am with my son. I want my phone to be close so I can take adorable pictures but I want to be as present as I can be with him. If I want to post a picture I wait until after he goes to bed or Dad is around and I am taking a 15 minute break. It is unnecessary for me to be glued to my phone when I am spending precious time with him.
Choose times when you can check social media when your not supposed to be doing something else. It’s so easy to distract yourself when your supposed to be doing something else to jump on to social media and waste literally an hour of your time. Instead maybe allow yourself a few times a day when you can check social media. During coffee time in the morning, during a tv show your not focused on at night, a lunch break, or maybe a cardio warm up. If it’s not one of those times stay off of social media.
Lastly, the newest iPhone update has some really cool screen time restrictions. It allows you to basically put your self in timeout. I set hours on my phone that I do not want to look at social media because I know this time is important to me, like after work with my son. You can even set a limit of how much time in one day you can spend on certain apps. It’s a pretty cool new feature.
Social media is a wonderful tool we love to utilize but these are all ways that have helped me stay focused and used social media in a positive way. Again, some people don’t get over stimulated or consumed by images of perfection on social media. Truth be told though I am one of those people who can be!
If you are someone like me and enjoy practicing being as present as you can be in your life these tips may work for you!
Your friend,
Jenn
