How I survived an 8 week digital detox

WHY I WANTED TO DO A DIGITAL DETOX

Before I decided to do this digital detox I was feeling very scattered, unfocused, overstimulated and bored at the same time.

I felt a lot of pressure to record everything I was doing and turn it into social media content. I was wrapped up in the hamster wheel of reels and bored scrolling - is anyone else feeling this?

It felt like I was trying to join a game of skipping double dutch. I kept watching these kids do tricks while skipping rope and I couldn’t find the right time to jump in. (Insert feelings of anxiety and disappointment)

I was tired of these feelings and also resented my “addiction” to my phone.  I’m always telling my kids to get off screens and do something “educational” so perhaps it was time for me to try the same.

HOW I PLANNED MY DIGITAL DETOX

Like any diet or new regime you need to start with some parameters (you see I said parameters and not “rules” because if I say “rules” I’m doomed before I start because I naturally want to break the rules I set)

My “parameters” were set with the goal of drastically reducing the use of social media (in my case IG and FB) and phone checking but not cut out all digital contact all together.  I still wanted to be able to text and get emails as I felt like I had these things under control and they either bring me joy or are essential to my business.

I timed this digital diet to begin in conjunction with a 2 week family vacation to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. This trip was spent living on a boat and exploring the spectacular coves and shores of the Gulf Islands.

While we did have cell reception for a lot of our trip I chose to remove the option to use cellular data for all my social media apps so I couldn’t access IG or FB. I also set my phones to do not disturb for a large chunk of the day and all of the late evening.

AFTER THE FIRST 2 WEEKS

What I discovered was that when I went back to regular wifi city life i didn’t really want to go on IG and FB anymore. It was only when I was bored or anxious that I picked up the phone to scroll. And surprisingly what I found when I was looking at my feed is that I felt even more anxious and “FOMO-like”. I was comparing myself to everyone else’s business and instalife in a way that was very discouraging to me.

So I decided to continue the detox until it felt right to get back online. At a certain point I knew I would need to jump back in to keep my business and bank account happy. But until then I could enjoy the extra time I gained to do some of these things…

THINGS I WAS DOING INSTEAD OF SCROLLING

• Drawing in my sketchbook - I know it seems like I do this all the time but I don’t!

• Swimming - ocean dips are my therapy

• Staring at the sky - it’s addictive and trippy!

• Planning a fun night with friends - I miss dancing with my friends

• Learning new card games - so fun to teach your kiddos the love of games

• Sketching new painting ideas - planning for the fall when the weather is cool and the kids are in school

• Taking close up photos of shells and rocks - it’s research ;)

• Going for a run - training for a half marathon in the fall

• Cleaning - somehow this even seemed fun - ok well less “unfun”

• Started a new Geometrics painting series - coming to you in late fall

• Preparing more elaborate meals - I remembered I do love to cook

• Thinking about where I would like to move after my kids finish high school

• Business goal setting - distilling what is most important

• Planning a wild vacation that I may never go on - dream a little dream

• Thinking about eating Miss Vickies salt and vinegar chips

• Reading - mostly non fiction

• Listening to podcast - business, news and art pods

• Listening to new music - my playlists were very 2005 until now

• Eating Miss Vickies salt and vinegar chips - goal attained!

Tumbo Island British Columbia

WHAT NOW?

So here’s the trouble, I do like to be busy and social - it is my natural state of being. Social media really lends itself to numbing that little bit of anxious space you have in your day. It’s makes you feel like you are “doing” something when really you are not. That said, I do love keeping in touch with people and discovering new things thru a visual medium. I am quite dependent on social media for promoting and sharing my work.

So how do I integrate the good and the bad aspects of digital life into my reality as an artist and business owner?

How can you be present online without spending too much time online and falling back into the same scrolls routine?

Here’s what I have done to try to help myself:

Don’t say you have to stop 100% - this is something that always ends up in a sense of failure for me. I set a limit of a certain amount of minutes per day for each app on my phone.  This is what I will allow myself for “fun” scrolling and if I happen to be posting for a work related reason I will allow myself to extend this limit manually in small defined chunks of time.

I have tried to train people contact me via text or email instead of IG/FB dm.  I was spending a lot of responding and checking the dms and would find myself back on the app scrolling.

Planning lots of fun IRL activities so I don’t really notice that I am missing out on what’s happening in the social media world.  I mean let’s be honest, you couldn’t really join in all the things you see happening online anyway!

Not worrying about documenting and posting everything as I do it. Sometimes I just tell myself outloud “I am taking a photo of this in my mind - click” and then I release the obligation to record it.

Set goals/schedules for things that are not digital. 

Do your online work in defined blocks of time so there is a beginning and an end - this helps with focus as well.

Get your dopamine hit from something else - this time I have decided to train for a half marathon and will let the runners high fill my tank.

As an artist you are always challenging yourself to grow whether it be by trying a new medium, pushing your concepts forward, working outside of your comfort zone to solve technical or conceptual puzzles while continuing to do your own marketing on a shoestring budget.

There is no marked path for you to follow which is so exciting on one hard but paralyzing on the other. 

It’s easiest to repeat making the same work that is well received and puts food on the table but when an artist tires of this work they feel creatively empty and the yearning for a new challenge emerges. 

While we would love to control the creative mind sometimes we must just follow it and see where it takes us.  At times this leads to dead ends, disappointments and failures which is hard to accept but still a very necessary part of growth.

As you continue to grow in your artistic journey you start to recognize your rhythms and can listen to when it is time to move on to a new idea.

One of my biggest challenges has been focus and this detox helped me improve in this area. How I manage to keep the business side of social media working for me remains is to be seen. But I did enjoy 8 weeks without the interruptions of notifications, scrolling, dms and checking to be able put together full thoughts and longer form ideas. 

For the time being let’s remember Oscar Wilde’s wise words:

“Everything in moderation - including moderation”

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