Why I Got Off Social Media for a Week.

Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s a silly holiday IMO, but I’m always down to shower people with some extra love. I wrote a poem for you too. 

Roses are red.

Violets are blue. 

I’m off social media.

Would you like to be too? 

If you’re following me on social you may already know that I am NOT on it this week! I’m doing The Artist’s Way. If you don’t know what it is, it’s an incredible book by Julia Cameron that takes you on a Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. (Don’t let the word “spiritual” scare you if you are not).

I’m on Week 4, which is technically called “Recovering a Sense of Integrity”, but apparently most people call it “Deprivation Week” cause it’s all about unplugging from distractions and being alone with your thoughts to let your creative energies flow (Terrifying, right?!)

That means NO reading (I’m still reading articles for work, but no books), no TV (I did watch the Superbowl halftime show), no podcasts and no social media! It’s just for one week, but it’s CRAZY. 

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit I’ve never taken a real social media break before. But on Saturday, I temporarily disabled my instagram account – I actually had to google how to do it. Here’s the article. Thankfully I never got addicted to TikTok or Twitter so that’s not an issue for me and the only reason I’m ever on FB anymore is for you and our Actors Rise FB group, but I’m not even going to post in there. You’ll forgive me, right? 

I gotta admit I got nervous about going off it cause it’s one major way I connect with you.

It’s something that makes me feel a sense of purpose and being totally candid, it’s also how I get new coaching clients and going off for a week means I won’t get those new clients, followers, subscribers. But my own mental health and my commitment to actually completing The Artist’s Way won out – thankfully! 

I also decided to double down and take off my Apple Watch for the week. I’ve noticed I click it all. the. time. I check it constantly during workouts to see what my heart rate is, but it’s started to become a distraction from my workouts where if I’m bored, I’ll click it and I won’t focus on giving the workout 100%. Even when I’m working I’ll click it randomly to check my rings, my friend’s rings, the weather – whatever! 

I feel kind of naked with my watch off, but what’s really funny is how many times I’ve literally tried to click my wrist. I smile every time I do it though. I’m proud of myself for getting off the apps. I had honestly started to feel like my watch was holding me captive in some way (dramatic, I know)!  I noticed that even when I finished a workout, if I didn’t hit my daily MOVE ring goal and was off by even 10 or so, I wasn’t proud of myself. Not good. Who cares if you’re 10 calories off?! You did a workout! You lived your life. You moved your body. 

I was even more convinced I should take it off after reading this article in the NY Times, I Ditched My Smart Watch, and I Don’t Regret It. Funny enough, it was written by Lindsay Crouse who was a year ahead of me in high school and sort of stole my high school boyfriend. No joke. Hated her for a minute, but it probably wasn’t her fault and come on, it was HS. Even more crazy was that in 2020 she wrote an article about how her ex boyfriend of 7 years (not the same guy I dated in HS) dated Lady Gaga and I was like, “KARMA!” j/k lol.

But really, her article went viral and in it she made some great points about living in a world where you can’t escape social media (how she found out about her ex dating Gaga) and some empowering thoughts on women being able to be the best version of themselves. You can read her Gaga article here.

Anyhooo, that got wayyyy off topic, but even after reading her article (the one about the watch not Gaga), I still didn’t take mine off…

Sometimes we really need a kick in the a$$ to do the things we know we need to do.

Like going to therapy, right?! You know it will help you, but somehow you avoid it cause it’s SCARY. #beenthere. The Artist’s Way was the kick I needed to finally take off my watch and get off instagram.

But now I can’t believe how many times I’ve reached for my phone and tried to check IG! 

I’m addicted to it. I mean, aren’t we all? They built it to be addicting! And while it’s liberating to be off social media, there’s a bit of FOMO too, right? But that’s OK. 

I’m getting more comfortable with being uncomfortable and alone with myself. 

And I have to tell you, I’ve already gotten so much done. In the past 48 hours I :

• Dropped off my clothes to GoodWill that had been in the trunk of my car for 10 months
• Reorganized my bedside table
• Bought new throw pillows for my couch & new hand towels for my bathroom
• Got rid of additional clothes after GoodWill trip and color coordinated a section of my closet 
• Finished half a 1000 piece puzzle
• Did a shit ton of work in a short amount of time cause I could actually concentrate! 

Not to mention spent quality time with friends, worked out – and went to see a PLAY!  It’s been GREAT! 

Have you ever gotten off social media? If not, I invite you to join me!

*** Consider this your sign to sign off social media for a week.***

I promise you’ll be OK and after a week, you’ll probably be way better than OK. Do it with me! 

Have you done The Artist’s Way before? I’m noticing a lot of subtle shifts have begun to happen in my life. 

If you’re feeling creatively blocked or just curious, pick up your own copy of The Artist’s Way and check out Barbara Howlin’s next group. I’m doing it with her right now and she is so kind and nurturing. I know many actors who have attempted to do The Artist’s Way alone, myself included, and typically around now (Week 4), they quit. I am definitely not going to quit. I am so lit up by this work and feel so supported by Barbara and the loving space she has created with the others in the group. 

Full disclosure – I’ve been a Barbara fan for years. We went to the same college (no, she did not steal my bf lol). Our time there actually didn’t overlap, but she has been running these Artist’s Way guided groups for awhile and advertising them in the newsletter. This time around I felt called to do it myself. The group fit perfectly with my schedule and I took the leap!

I’ve still been navigating this push and pull of internal questions, “Do I want to continue acting as my main career focus? Or do I want to focus on other things I love like writing, coaching and public speaking? Maybe (gasp) becoming a therapist?” Needless to say, I jumped into The Artist’s Way and I feel like it was the life jacket I needed to help me answer all these questions and figure out where I really want to be. 

I still don’t know the answers yet. I have a lot more questions than answers, but I have a lot more ideas too and THAT is freaking exciting! 

That’s all for tonight. Let me know if you’re going to take off social media with me this week!  Or let me know your thoughts on anything in the newsletter. I always love to hear from you about all the things! 

Sending lots of love your way this Valentine’s Day.