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Hey Sister Friend! It’s almost Spring! I feel like that fact alone is bringing a lot of JOY to my life, and hopefully to yours! I love how Spring is symbolic of new life and hope and renewal! I never really considered Spring one of my favorite seasons, but as I continue to grow in relationship with the Lord, I feel like He’s given me eyes to see the season of Spring in a new and symbolic way! So good!!
Alright sweet friend, on to today’s episode. There are two things that I’ve started doing recently and they are significantly increasing the amount of JOY in my life! You know I’m here for it! These two things are basically unrelated, but both so effective. They are simple, but awesome things and I think you’ll find that doing them will bring more JOY to your life too!
#1. I’m deleting social media.
Okay, don’t freak out! I’m not deleting my social apps permanently or all the time, but I AM deleting them on the weekends. Like… completely deleting the apps from my phone. Yep! And it’s bringing me so much JOY!
I’m finding myself way more relaxed, calm and peaceful on the weekends. I don’t feel chained to my phone anymore. And most importantly, I’m finding myself being wayyy more intentional about spending time with the people I love most. And I’m spending that time less distracted and so much more present!
I dug up some stats via a quick google search and they just might shock you…
Check this out… in 2020, the average user spent 2 hours and 24 minutes PER DAY on social media.
Yeah, that stat made me die a little on the inside. If you’re anything like me, you want to believe that statistic isn’t true for you. But if you pull open the stats inside your phone, well… just give it a try to see the truth about how much time you’re wasting on social EVERY SINGLE day.
Think about what that number looks like in terms of usage in a week, a month, a year… a lifetime?!
It equates to…
16.8 hours in a week! That’s equivalent to 3 full days every month. That’s shocking!
In terms of a year’s time, it equates to 35.6 DAYS!
Girl… if you’re on social media as much as the average user, you are spending over a full month out of your precious year staring at your screen!!! That doesn’t even count the hours we spend on email, Amazon, and all the other apps!? I know… I’m over here with my jaw on the floor too.
I. Can’t. Even. Those stats shock me. They make me literally feel sick. I DON’T want to be a part of those stats!
Have you ever seen the movie Social Dilemma on Netflix? If you haven’t, go check it out to get a glimpse into the way social media is wired to actually make us addicted to these social apps!
So… our brains are designed to release dopamine when we do something that meets a survival need. Studies are showing that phone activity, like receiving and responding to texts and social notifications are actually triggering releases of dopamine. It’s making us feel happy and satisfied and….. totally addicted! It keeps us coming back for more.
We’re talking full blown addiction to our devices! Even our kids are picking up on it – they’re becoming addicted as they watch us become addicted!
A few months back, my kids and I left the house on a short trip to get haircuts and I realized after I left that I had forgotten my phone. While I wasn’t worried at all, my kids were in a panic! Obviously our phones are great for safety reasons but it was a huge realization to me that our kids don’t know what to do if there’s not a cell phone in reach!?!???
Back to social media… Social media is actually really different than being social. It’s totally different than hanging out with your friends, laughing and feeling happy and loved. Social media has made our world way LESS social and if you’re anything like me, there have been times when you’ve come to the abrupt realization that you wasted minutes, hours, or even days worth of time mindlessly trolling so-called social media, without actually being one ounce “social.”
Speaking of wasting time, are you one of these people who’s always telling yourself “I don’t have the time”? Yes, you do! I just told you where to find an extra 2 hours and 24 minutes every single day!
On top of that, have you ever considered what awesome things you’re missing out on in your own life while you’re scrolling through someone else’s highlight reel? I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve undoubtedly missed some precious moments and some sweet time with my family because I’ve been sucked into the vortex of social media.
Here’s how you can get an honest answer on whether or not you have work to do in this area: Ask your kids and ask your spouse. I mean it! Ask them if they ever feel like you are too busy to talk to them because you’re distracted by your cell phone. Their answer may hurt, but it will reveal some truth. Growing forward into who we were made to be starts with acute awareness of where we are now!
Sweet friend, I don’t hate social media. It can be used for GOOD, but it’s time to set some boundaries and be WAY more intentional with our time, with our phones and specifically, with our social apps.
You know I’m all about equipping you to grow in wisdom, and to take actionable steps forward into a joy filled life, so… if your heart is convicted about this like mine was, here are some tangible tips that will help you make simple, yet powerful changes around your social media use!
- Start by gaining awareness of how much time you are really, actually spending on social. Check the stats within your phone settings. With a few simple taps or swipes, you can discover exactly how much time you are spending on social each day. If this dose of reality doesn’t make you want to make some changes, I’ll be really surprised!!
- Once you’ve uncovered the truth about your social usage, do a one-day social fast. I started doing this quite a long time back, before I even really knew that I needed it. I would delete all social apps completely from my phone for 1 to 3 days at a time. When the apps were deleted, I was made very aware of how many times a day I would typically open socials because I would go to press the app… and the app wouldn’t be there. Honestly, I was shocked at the number of times during that ONE, two or three day span that I would open my screen and go to hit one of the social icons. It was so eye opening, and like I said, I didn’t really know why or what I was doing by social fasting, I just knew it was RIGHT and felt convicted to do it! You could say it was a God thing!
- Another thing you can do is set time limits. I’m an Apple girl and I’m not sure about other phones, but on the iPhone you can set time limits in your settings. For example, after 1 hour of total social app usage, you can set your phone to actually block or mute certain apps. I think this is a great hack, but let’s be honest, you may find yourself overriding the time limit blocking, so……..
- I’m gonna go ahead and rip it off like a bandaid. Sis… if you’re serious about making positive changes in your life around your social media usage, I’m going to encourage you to set up boundaries by establishing certain days where social media apps are… wait for it…. Completely deleted from your phone. Like on a regular basis!
I know, I know… Here’s the thing, sweet friend. Just like my mom told me about going through the process of childbirth “You won’t die.” LOL!!!
In fact, it will actually bring GREAT JOY to your life! If you don’t believe me, then you definitely need to try it. Over here, I delete all my social apps on Friday afternoon and I don’t reinstall them until Sunday afternoon.
Do I have to take 60 seconds to re-download the apps and log back in each Sunday? Yes.
Is it worth it? Heck. To. The. Yes.
Seriously, all the yes. All the praise hands for this practice!!
Sis, I promise you this is going to change your life if you’ll commit to doing it!! I dare you… this Friday, take the leap of faith and delete. those. apps!
A few other quick tips: Don’t take your phone to bed with you. The blue light is killing your sleep. It’s stimulating your brain and literally keeping you awake at night.
Also, don’t take your phone in the bathroom. Come on girl, I know you’re doing it! Try leaving a book in there instead! As funny as it sounds, it will impact your life in a much more positive way! Besides, if you seriously think about it, taking your phone in the bathroom is actually pretty gross, am I right?!
One last thing on your phone – Do your best to hug your kids before you hug your phone in the morning. I mean that figuratively and literally. We’re training up our kids. They are watching us making choices about what gets priority in our lives. Show them in a tangible way that they are more important than your cell phone. Another impactful thing you can do is declare family meal time sacred by putting your phone in the other room and/or turning it off during family time. These are little things that will add up in a really big way for you and your family!
Okay… I’m about to take you in a toooootally different direction with this second thing that I started doing recently!
#2. I started meditating.
Alright Sister, I don’t know where you stand on the practice of meditation, but I had a stigma around it forever. I thought it was weird to be honest and I wasn’t sure what God thought about it. Now, I have started meditating on God’s word and it has changed. my. life!
I first tried meditating with an app called Calm. It has all types of guided meditation practices along with some other neat things like different kinds of music, sleep stories, stuff for kids and more! But really, you don’t have to get all fancy with meditation. At its core, meditation really is just sitting quietly, being present and okay in that moment, and being able to focus your thoughts.
It was hard to do at first because you have to become really self-disciplined in reigning in your thoughts but the more I do it, the more I fall in love with it and the easier it’s becoming. I’ve even found that it has helped me to be more focused and intentional with my thoughts throughout the day.
I actually went on a search for Christian-based meditation practices in my podcast app and found Ryanne Channell, who hosts the Wellness and The Word podcast. Of course, I had to bring her on the show and she’s actually coming onto the podcast next week! Definitely stay tuned for that episode where you can experience a guided meditation on God’s word!
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Okay, sweet friend! This real life episode offered you a glimpse into my world and I hope that you found it encouraging, challenging and helpful! I have an inkling that you did!
If you loved today’s podcast, would you do your girl a favor and take 30 seconds to leave me a great review? I’d be so appreciative!
I’ll see you back here next week, same time, same place with my friend Ryanne Channell and we will get our meditation on. In the meantime, why don’t you give that social deletion a try! I challenge you to do it this coming weekend. You might just find that it actually brings JOY to your life!!!
Alright Sis, until next time… live and love with great JOY!
