After recently taking a social media detox {a blogging break too} I wanted to share my experience and outcome!
I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend! We had a pretty chill one which was so nice! Loved getting to cross lots of items off our to do list and have some fun exploring our on city on Saturday. So if you follow me via Instagram {and Instagram stories} you may know I recently took a break from all social media and blogging too. I had planned to take a full week but ended up taking just four days. This was due to a campaign deadline but honestly, the four days ended up being exactly what I needed! First and foremost, I wanted to say thank you to each and every one of you that sent sweet messages to me via DM on Instagram and email prior to and during my hiatus. They meant the WORLD to me and had me feeling more thankful then ever for Louella Reese! I truly love y’all lots!
Aside from those sweet messages, I also had several people ask questions about my break from social media and blogging, what I’m calling my social media detox. These questions included: why did you take one? how did you feel during it? how did you feel after it? would you recommend one? and did it hurt your social media or blog?. So I wanted to put together a post answering all of your questions and describing my experience doing a social media detox {and blogging break}.
Why did you take a social media detox?
So I explained this briefly on my Instagram story a couple days prior to my hiatus but simply, I just needed it! As all you other ladies out there know, the comparison game is real. As a woman it’s something we sadly do to ourselves regularly {monthly, weekly, daily, hourly} and while I think it is strong in the real world I think it’s even stronger in the blogging world. Mainly, due to the pressure we put on ourselves to grow our following, grow our blog reader base, take the perfect picture, live a picture perfect life, and the list goes on. It is EXHAUSTING y’all and it was wearing me down!
Don’t take that the wrong way, I LOVE blogging, I love sharing my content on social media, I love the community that comes with being a part of the blogging world. However, I was feeling drained and that was due to playing the comparison game too much and placing too much pressure on myself. Again to post the perfect picture, have the right filter, represent my brand perfectly, be as good as her and her and her, and I just needed to step back. I needed to step back to refocus on myself, my brand, and what exactly I wanted to share + offer to y’all as loyal readers and followers. At the time being, I wasn’t 100% happy or proud of the content I was putting out there and I wanted to stop, think, and better prepare for where I wanted my brand to be and where I wanted it to go.
How did you feel during the social media detox?
Honestly, the first day or so was stressful. I felt like I was missing out, letting y’all down, and like I needed to do something. However, I deleted all social media apps from my phone {Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter} so I didn’t even have the temptation or really the ability to sign on.
After the first day or so, it was refreshing. I found myself being less stressed and getting SO much done! I was checking things off the do to list left and right and we all know that feeling is good! I think it went better than I thought. I spent a lot of the time thinking about my brand, Louella Reese, what I wanted it to represent, what I wanted it to be, and how to portray that going forward. Taking the time to do this was LOTS of fun! I created a tagline for Louella Reese, Feminine & Casual with a Classic Touch, to define the style. Additionally, I created a custom color palette to align with my favorite colors and the colors to represent the brand. Lastly, to really help keep my vision alive, I organized a Pinterest vision board {a secret board} to include images that inspire me and I was drawn to.
How did you feel after the social media detox?
Refreshed and revitalized! All of the items I listed above that I worked on while on this social media detox helped so much! While also making me incredibly excited to be back and produce great content for Louella Reese for y’all to enjoy! I am feeling less stressed, the comparison game is being controlled, and again, super excited.
Would you recommend others take a social media detox?
YES, YES, YES, AND YES! I would 100% recommend it. One, you see how addicted you are to social media and how much time you spend on it. Two, it frees that time to work on other items. Three, you’ll feel better about yourself when you complete it. Four, you may come back with a clearer vision of what you want to share on social media and how much time you want to actually spend on it.
Did it hurt your social media accounts or blog?
No! The kind of laughable thing about this is I actually ended up having more followers on Instagram than I did when I signed off for the social media detox. While I’m not sure that would happen every time, I guess this go around worked in my favor. How I thought of it prior to leaving though, was this may hurt my numbers temporarily but I’m going to come back stronger! Creating better content which will hopefully lead to growth and higher engagement.
While it didn’t hurt my blog, it didn’t help. Views were obviously down those days as I wasn’t producing new content and promoting it via social media. Was it a big difference? No, it really wasn’t. Thankfully, Pinterest really helps to keep my traffic up and loyal readers like y’all were still popping in here and there to check in. Thank you for that!
Isn’t it amazing how much “noise” there is when you take out social media and realize it? I LOVE disconnecting for a weekend because I feel like a better PERSON overall!
The Adored Life
It really is! I definitely need to do that more often. Agree, makes us better people!
xo Laura Leigh
I think it’s so important to take a social media detox every once in a while. It’s so important for our overall well being! Being on social media all the time and blogging, it can get so overwhelming. Thanks SO much for sharing this! Such a great blog post.
xo, Lydia
I couldn’t agree more Lydia! Of course, thank you for reading! I really appreciate it.
xo Laura Leigh
100% agree with you! I try hard to stay off social media throughout the day and sometimes I take a day off. A detox would be great. It can feel like a chore sometimes. Thanks for posting this!!
XOXO
Cathy
Thank you Cathy! You should definitely give the detox a try. And yes, I agree, it can feel as if it is a chore at times. Of course gal, I appreciate you reading!
xo Laura Leigh
That is awesome that you did a social media detox! I bet it felt great after posting for so long and everything.
http://sugarcoatedbears.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much Courtney! I definitely did feel a lot better.
xo Laura Leigh
I need to do this! I feel like I’m doing it in small doses by not bringing my phone into my room anymore, or scheduling content on Planoly to auto-post more than going on the app. Love this post!
xo Jessica
My Style Vita
Yes girl! I couldn’t recommend it more. I should give Planoly a try though. Auto-posting sounds wonderful. Thanks Jessica!
xo Laura Leigh
I love that you took a break AND learned that it wouldn’t hurt your brand – in fact it helped it! It’s so good and so necessary to step back and take time for yourself, especially when we feel like we always have to be on.
XO,
Heather
Heather Bien
Thank you Heather! It was definitely a learning experience and one I am glad I received. I really couldn’t agree more! Being on ALL the time is exhausting!
xo Laura Leigh
I am so glad to read about your detox experience. I used to take so many social media breaks … and then I realized that personally the break are just a temporary solution what I need is something which I can incorporate in daily life (just like healthy eating). Setting time slots for all tech related work and leisure activities and then staying tech free seemed like a more long term solution.
❥ tanvii.com
Aw thank you Tanvi! I really appreciate you saying that and taking the time to read. I love that idea of something to incorporate daily, like healthy eating and exercise. Definitely need to work on that personally. Thank you gal!
xo Laura Leigh
This is SO inspiring and I’m SO happy for you!!!!! EEP!!! Can’t wait to see what big things you have planned!! It’s going to be so fun to follow along!!
xo, Hillary | http://www.hillheady.com
You’re the sweetest! Thank you Hillary!!
xo Laura Leigh
Social media breaks are much needed! I try to take at least 2 a year (maybe I should do it more often) LOL!
You should totally do more! I definitely am now haha.
xo Laura Leigh
I just got done with two weeks of media trips and definitely need a social media detox! I think it’s so important to refresh and recharge every now and then.
Yeah girl, you need a break haha!
xo Laura Leigh
Welcome back! Sometime’s a few days off is just what you need. Thanks for sharing the experience with us!
Megan | http://www.pipmegan.com
Aw thank you Megan! Yes, I totally agree. Thank you for reading about it!
xo Laura Leigh
A detox can be just the trick sometimes! I took one a few years back and it felt incredible – and the same thing happened to my Instagram … I came back to more followers than I had before! Glad you’re back and pumped up about what you accomplished while you were away!
Absolutely agree gal! Glad you’ve given a go as well and had great experiences too. Thank you lots!
xo Laura Leigh
Ah I’m so glad you had a great experience! Social/Blogging detoxes are SO important in this digital age, and I think they allow us the time to figure all of the other things out. I’m absolutely loving the color palette and the tagline, it’s all SO you!
The Champagne Edit
Thank you so much gal! I truly could not agree with you more. They are very important! And YAY thrilled to hear you are loving the items I worked on.
xo Laura Leigh
I have considered doing this many times but sounds like I need to just take the plunge and give it a try!
Yes girl! Absolutely!
xo Laura Leigh
Sometimes we really need this! I’m scared to take one but have definitely thought about it. Sometimes we really need that – especially with the comparison game!
Lauren
Completely agreed! I was super scared to do one as well but just took the jump and felt so much better after. Worth it!
xo Laura Leigh
I try to schedule these every few weeks! Whether it’s a day or weekend, they are so refreshing!
Definitely need to do that as well!
xo Laura Leigh
I so need to do one of these! This is overdue!
xx Leah
Yes for sure! Highly recommend it.
xo Laura Leigh
I’m glad you’re detox was a good one!! It seems that you have come back with an even greater passion and fire for your blog so it was the right move! Excited to see your posts now that you’re back!
-Morgan
How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com
Thank you Morgan! Definitely have that feeling and it great to have that again. Excited to share more and keep that passion + fire alive this go around!
xo Laura Leigh