Social media can be a boon or a bane. I won’t tell you why, because I assume you know.
That said, here is a bit of relief: Social media won’t control you if you don’t allow it to.
The first step is realizing that social media isn’t all that great. Once you are aware of this, these tips should assist you in reaching your goal:
The first and important thing is to analyze why you want to cut back on social media time?
You may feel this way because you’re unable to focus on your work, feel trapped in the virtual bubble, experience lethargy, mental health issues, or anything else. If you are clear about your reasons, you might also know what you would like to do instead. List those things. Examine its potential. Ask yourself why you want to do what you want to do. That will give you a purpose. The stronger the purpose and your desire to achieve it, the sooner or easier it will be for you to manage your time on social media.
Put up pictures or a list of things you want to accomplish on your wall, so you can look at them whenever you are distracted and get a quick boost of motivation.
Use timers on social media apps if that helps. It is paramount that you train your mind to control things and not the other way around.
Here is a list of things I did to keep my social media urges at bay. You can read it here.
Lastly, if social media isn’t relevant to your work, uninstall it. It’s been six months since I’ve uninstalled Instagram and three months since I’ve uninstalled Facebook from my phone. If you ask me about my experience, I’d say I was tempted to reinstall those apps but at the same time, I was aware of the reason I had started off. Thus, I managed my emotions and gradually channeled my time into doing productive things—my useful and go-to resort was the goals list I mentioned earlier. It took me a few weeks to reach a desired mental space—I don’t care much about using social media apps anymore.
Final Thoughts:
Social media de-addiction is a continuous process. In my experience, once you find meaning in your reality, you will lose interest in social media. I am proud to say I have risen above my temptations and now I pretty much live a balanced life.
How are you managing your social media time and how does it affects you? Write me in the comments. And also, subscribe to my blog to never miss any content updates!
See you tomorrow.