Week One with No Social Media

People still think I am crazy for giving up social media, but I am still SO glad that I did. I wasn’t really sure what to expect for the first week with no social media; some of it I expected and a lot of it were things I never considered before. I have been talking a lot about steps I took to officially go off the grid for a while and a lot of changes I am making personally to benefit both me and my business. So let me break down the first week for you.

Day 1

I shot a New Year’s Eve wedding in Spokane and ended up driving home that evening. I hadn’t planned on doing that originally, but it was supposed to snow all evening and felt it was better to tackle it that night instead of with snow the next day. Therefore, I didn’t have the time to delete my apps and fully sit down to make sure I had everything ready to remove from my phone and computer. When I woke up on New Years Day I spent the first 30 min of my day doing so, making sure I had automated messages for my Facebook, added different admins to my Facebook page, check any last minute messages and then wa-la I pushed those “x’s” on the toggling apps to permanently remove it from my phone!! That moment was both nerve racking and a relief to officially have no social media. Being that I had shot a wedding the night before, I normally would post a sneak peek on my Instagram to share. Not being able to do this was so weird and made me kind of sad! I WANTED to share with everyone, so I immediately messaged a good friend to share it with her, and of course messaged my client so she could see it (image pictured below).  What I learned most on day 1 with no social media was how much of a habit it was to subconsciously grab your phone and click those apps. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I did this throughout the day, purely just out of habit. This was extremely eye-opening and kind of sad to see.  Another interesting aspect was I got an inquiry that day and wasn’t able to look the client up through social media. I know I am not the only one! It has been so easy to look up potential clients through various social media platforms to see the connections you have and to put a face to the name, but I didn’t have that outlet anymore, so this has most definitely changed how I interact with potential clients. Something I never would have considered before taking the leap with no social media.

Day 2 + 3

These days were pretty similar in that I caught myself grabbing my phone for no reason. I had a lot of people ask me how things were going with no social media during the two days as well. People assume it is hard, but I think it has just been different. It’s a different lifestyle completely to not be sucked into the social media world and see what everyone else is doing or posting/talking about. Day two and three I noticed the most about how conversation stems from social media. There were a plenty of times where people would say something like, “did you see that video of…?” or “oh my gosh I have to show you this post”. This was something I knew would be noticed, but I didn’t think this early on.

Day 4

Wednesday, January 4th was the day that I felt most adapted to the change with no social media. It was the first day where I didn’t naturally grab my phone to subconsciously try and surf social media. This was such an uplifting day for me knowing that I sort of surpassed that “edge” to want to be involved in what everyone was doing. Again, didn’t think I would have this feeling so early on, but it was a great feeling.

Day 5 + 6 + 7

I talked about goals in my previous blog post and how sharing those goals were important to being successful. These three days couldn’t have confirmed that more clearly. I have posted about my cleanse through all social media outlets and talked about it with close family and friends. During these days I hired someone to take over my Instagram account because it is engagement season and potential clients do search Instagram for vendors. Therefore, I felt it was super important to still be active during this time, but without me being engrossed or doing all the prepping for it. Well when my assistant, Haley, posted the first time, I had SO many people screen shot it and send it to me saying things like “Jess!!!?” or “No more cleanse?” or “That didn’t take long! ;)” it was amazing how many people were actually holding me accountable! Which is why I think it is important to share your goals with people, so they can hold you accountable. Because I felt as though my time was more present and undistracted I was able to enjoy some time watching an entire movie. Definitely a highlight of the week. I don’t remember the last time I watched an entire movie without browsing on my phone. Anyone else constantly look at your phone during a movie at home?

I won’t be posting weekly updates about life with no social media, but will probably do one month, 3 months and 6 months. Feel free to sign up for my newsletter so you can be the first to see what these changes look like over the course of the 6 months.