TL;DR Social media blocking helped me redirect attention to what matters and be more mindful of how I spend my time.
This article is a follow-up to my guide titled “How I reclaimed back my time from social media in 6 months.” (Read it here)
Starting January 2023, I locked myself out from social media apps on a strict schedule and I never felt better. Here’s what I learned so far:
1. You don’t need to be online all the time.
My social life and my digital marketing career did not end. Instead, I became more present in my relationships and developed a deeper appreciation for my work.
When I took time off, that’s when I most felt like I was thriving. These days I post less updates on my personal accounts but that doesn’t take away the happiness and fulfillment I experience in “share-worthy” moments.
2. Your loved ones won’t think any less of you (even if you send less memes.)
Like most people, I enjoy sharing memes and videos with close friends and family. I’m doing this less now though because I have very limited access to social media. Only got 5 minutes for Facebook and Instagram? I usually get banned before I can spam my sister with funny dog videos.
I also learned that you don’t need to stay updated about every single thing they post online. Chats, video calls, and real life hangouts are enough to stay connected.
3. Investing in technology can give you an ROI in the form of time.
It’s ironic that in a world with accessible information, what I really needed was to a tool to limit my access. That one-time payment for app blocking software was worth it because it greatly helped me overcome a bad habit and get back precious time.
4. It gives you confidence to change more aspects of your life.
Seeing positive results from the blocking experiment inspired me greatly. I remember it was around month 5 that I thought “Hey, I have more control over my time than I thought!”
This led to a mindset shift that I carried over to other things like waking up early, starting a blog, and taking online courses. “This worked! What else can I change?” It gave me solid proof that I can change deep-seated bad habits and create good ones.
5. The best time to start is now.
I lost count of how many times I’ve said “I wish I’d done this earlier.” It’s been a long process – it took me 6 months to reach my desired level of behavior change. I still change my blocking schedule from time to time depending on my priorities.
An important note: Blocking social media is not a magical solution to time management problems, but it greatly helps in getting you back on track towards what truly matters.
Want to do the same thing? I wrote a guide about the exact steps I took to go from 6 hours a day on Facebook to only 3 hours a week. Read the full article here.
No need to wait for January, you can start today!