Recently I have been disconnecting to reconnect with myself. My screen time is, well embarrassingly high. I’m talking 7-10 hours, PER DAY. Granted that is music, podcasts and other apps playing in the background, but overall a very alarming number. Prior to my disconnect, I could hardly watch a movie without touching my phone.
Recently I have felt drained through social media rather than inspired, and I knew I needed to take a moment to clear my thoughts. I wanted to renew my energy before pushing content. Through not posting consistently, I have noticed I have this idea built up in my head, that in order to be successful, I have to have a following on social media. I strongly believe others feel that pressure as well. It can be so overwhelming to feel it, especially when views or engagement is down. When I started to feel that creep in, I decided to take a moment off of social media.
Over the past few weeks I have been exploring other ways to feel creative and regain inspiration. I have been coloring, which is something I hadn’t done in years. It truly is one of my favorite activities. I also went to a new park and walked the trail. It was so nice to see other families and people from my town enjoying the outside. I never see kids playing outside anymore. I also have been back into reading, which is a newfound hobby.
While I took my break, I was not completely off social media, I continued to scroll and just take a second to laugh or enjoy the content posted. Instead of analyzing why this went viral or that had something trending. The pressure we put on ourselves is far too much. Sometimes we simply need to hang-up and hangout.
You may think this was a clever way to drop my newest design, and I promise that wasn’t intended (but hey, it works so I’ll take it). I just happen to genuinely make clothing that aligns with how I feel. I truly believe taking time off our phones, to be more present, can be so effective for good mental health and strong relationships. Taking a moment to put your phone down and be more present, allows you to really be grateful for what you have in the moment. Because nothing but the present is guaranteed.
I wasn’t sure how I wanted to come back after my short hiatus and figured, why not explore another creative outlet I hadn’t used in a while … my blog. I hope you all to take a second to put your device down and be grateful for the day.
- Cora Sanfilippo