Healthy Chicks

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I’ve been craving less doing and more self-care. In fact, my word for 2019 is flow. Like water, my intention is for my life to flow freely — welcoming in abundance, new friendships and this life as a new mama with ease.  Life doesn’t have to be a constant hustle.

One area that’s been creating a blockage in the day-to-day flow is social media, specifically the amount of time I spend perusing instagram. While I think there are many wonderful things about the world of the web, I also think it can be distracting (look at all these shiny things!), draining and a rabbit hole for the comparison trap.

While I’ve been feeling this way for quite some time and have every intention to step away a bit from social media, in all honesty when it comes down to actually doing it I struggle (especially since I do it on the side for a living). I can say I’ll do it and intend to do it with every ounce of my being, but at the end of the day technology can be addicting.

In fact, tech companies know this and have even implemented tools — such as Apple’s Screen Time — to help us cut back. That’s when you know there’s a real problem here, when the very companies that create technology are creating tools to limit usage.

It’s been reported that Americans check their phone on average once every 12 minutes, which is 80 times a day! That to me is super scary, especially since I’m one of those Americans glued to the iPhone.

The obsession with social media (or texting, Tinder-ing, you name it) is pulling us away from living in the moment — taking a toll on our relationships, sleep and even stress. And for me personally, it’s been making me feel super cluttered and constricted, the exact opposite of flow.

While it seems like everyone on the planet is busy Marie Kondo-ing their life, I for one have been craving a different kind of tidying up — an internal one. I want more baby snuggles, reading for pleasure, unplugged conversations with hubby, old-fashioned pen to paper.

I miss the days of sitting around the dinner table without our phones, taking a photo on an actual camera and not posting it never-mind seeing it until it’s developed, waking up to an actual alarm clock — or better yet by the sunshine peeping through the window.

Living in the moment — that’s what is important to me right now.

The pile of laundry can wait for now, my underwear doesn’t need to be perfectly folded and color coordinated like at Victoria’s Secret, and it’s OK that the diaper bag doesn’t look pretty or my #MOMLIFE mug still has a few drops of coffee leftover from this morning.

But feeling mentally cluttered is not something I want to put on the back burner any longer. For me, “tidying up” my mind is the bigger issue here.

So, what now? I’m taking some intentional actions and starting small — by setting up Apple Screen Time with social media limits and a downtime from 7pm-7am. I’m also going to be doing more reading (I’m excited to join a local Book Club), writing with a pen or actual keyboard vs. a screen and spending more time moving my body. It may not seem like much, but that’s a huge step in the right direction for me.

Yesterday was Day 1, and I’m already feeling a sense of ease and refreshing burst of energy by setting those boundaries. I wasn’t drained or falling asleep on the couch by 8:30pm, I slept better, and I enjoyed catching up with my husband instead of checking my mail or getting lost on instagram.

I know it’s going to be a learning curve, but I’m looking forward to diving inward. That’s where the real magical sh*t is.