The Pursuit of Less: Internet Clutter
I love the internet. I've come to love it more over the last year since my attitude towards it has shifted. In the past I have used it for my own gain - to show off my life for no other purpose than to just be doing what the world was doing. Really, I had no goals when it came to social media or being online. I once heard a friend talk about having a mission statement for her social media. This sparked a great discussion but I was still left wondering "what would that look like for me?"
A few years later I feel like I have a better handle on my feelings regarding the internet. I'm still learning and growing, but I feel like I'm at a comfortable place with my time online. The internet can very quickly start to take over our lives. I think there are actually studies out there about our brains being wired differently now because of technology. I honestly can see how I've been affected by this - when it's hard to turn off at the end of the day, or when I desperately want to check my phone first thing in the morning. I know there was a time in my life where this wasn't the case, and it gives me the motivation to be intentional, and not be overrun by it.
As much as I love the internet, it drains me if I let it get out of hand or have a place in my life that it shouldn't. I want to be purposeful with my time online, so I've set up a mission statement and some boundaries, and at the end I want to share with you what I'll be clearing out so I can experience more freedom with the internet!
MISSION
With anything I do online, I want it to be genuine, encouraging, and challenging for others. I want people to be spurred on for the better because of following me on Instagram, Facebook or here on the blog. I don't want it to be the end of the conversation, but a spark to start a deeper conversation in real life.
BOUNDARIES
- I try to only get on Instagram around 8am, noon-ish after Rae goes down for a nap and in the afternoon sometime. That doesn't always happen, and I fail more than I succeed, but I'm getting closer to it and it makes my time there feel so much more fun!
- On my goal list for the past few months has been no phone in the evening. This has been a huge fail in some ways as I got my shop started, but now I'm looking for ways to actually make it happen, ie: leave my phone on silent in a drawer :)
- Set a timer for how long I can spend on social media. It's easy to get sucked in and have spent 30-40 minutes sometimes!
Some of these things I've already done, some are in process and some need to be tackled.
CLEAR THE CLUTTER:
- Purge Pinterest It took a couple of days but I went in and deleted multiple boards as well as anything that is not pertinent to my life. If I'm not going to actually go back and use it for something, it got deleted.
- Clean up Facebook friend list I was dreading going through all my friends on FB because the sheer number overwhelms me. So far my solution to this has been to use birthday announcements to remind me of people who I don't know or have a relationship with. It's crazy how many people became my FB friend in college and I have no clue who they are?!
- Clean up people I follow on IG I've done this a couple times, but it's always good to go back through and ask myself these questions: Why am I following them? Is their art or brand too similar to mine? I may need to stop following them so I guard myself from comparison or having other peoples art and designs in my head when I'm trying to create.
- Write purposeful blog posts that encourage and bless my readers. I often feel the pressure to write every day or often multiple times a week. In busier weeks of life, sometimes this blog doesn't get as much attention as I would like. I need to be okay with this and settle into a rhythm that allows for grace when my actual life gets busy.
So that's that! Clearing out some things has really helped me to stay focused on what I came online to do.
What about you? Do you feel like you open your laptop just to get lost for an hour, then feel the guilt of "wasting" your time online? What can you clear out? How can you make your time online a time of good for you and others? I'd love to hear!
