Transcripts
1. Why This Detox Matters: You probably spent a lot
of time on social media. But how much of that time
is really helping you? Welcome to the social
media detox course. I am beyond excited
to help you reclaim your time and your energy by improving your relationship
with social media. Social media can be draining. It can drain your energy
and your time with not so healthy habits like mindless scrolling
amongst other things. And it can cause
anxiety and stress and send you down this loop
of unhealthy comparisons. Detox can help you to
create more free time. It can help you to
improve your focus and even boost
your overall mood. Hi, I'm Romina. And as a creative entrepreneur, running my businesses online, I've had to be on social
media a lot for work. At times, I felt
overwhelmed by constantly needing to check my phone or my profiles and to stay
connected for business. I've had to feel like I had to stay connected
all of the time. I realized that cutting back and creating healthier
digital habits and a better environment
for myself has actually helped me to more productive
and more focused, which is why I created this course to help you
find that healthy balance, even if social
media is a big part of your work or even
just your personal life. This detox is not about quitting
social media altogether. It's more about
finding that balance, that balance that works for you. If all of that sounds
amazing to you, then let's get started
by reflecting on how social media makes
you feel currently. Does it make you feel
energized or drained? Whatever the answer
is, we're going to work together on this
throughout the course. And whenever you're ready, then join me in the next lesson where
we are going to take a closer look at your
social media habits right now and see where your
time is actually going.
2. What’s Draining You?: We make any changes,
we need to know exactly where your
time is going and why. So that's what this
lesson is all about. And don't worry. I'm
going to walk you through some of the ways
that you can do this. But just so you know, the goal for this lesson
is for you to track your usage for the next
one to three days. Right, let's get started with some of the ways that
you can do this. First of all, there are a lot of screen time trackers
and features and apps and things
like this that you can currently use on your phone
and on some computers. I know that Apple has
some screen time features built in for their desktop
and for their iPhones. So I'm going to break
down how you can do this on your iPhone if you
have and if you don't, then there are plenty of
apps that you can use and services that will
help you to do just this. So on your iPhone, you're
going to want to go to settings and then scroll down and tap on
screen time to view your daily and weekly
social media usage. And you can use this to track. And if you tap on C A activity, you can even view a
detailed breakdown of how much time you've spent on each social media platform. So this is obviously a
really easy hands off method for tracking your
social media usage. But if you want
to do something a little bit more in a log style, then you can manually log it by using notebooks or creating a spreadsheet
on your computer. Obviously, this is going to be a little bit more
time consuming. The benefits of doing that is that it will
actually make you really mindful of the times
that you are using your social media
because you have to step away from the screen
and then log it somewhere. It's tedious. So choose
which method you prefer. Personally, I've used
the screen time and the apps as opposed to going
the more tedious route, but I will leave that up to you. As you are documenting
all of your usage, it's important to
know the platforms that you most frequently use. So how much time are you
spending on each one? These are things that you
want to be tracking when you are doing this exercise. Take a note of how
you feel before and after each usage on
each of the platforms. So some of the things that
you might feel energized. Sometimes you might feel
anxious, distracted, et cetera. Try to put a word to
how you are feeling, again, before and
after each usage. This is going to be
crucial to identifying why you gravitate towards
each of these platforms. Next, you're going to want
to identify any patterns. So some examples of this might be scrolling out of boredom or using social media as a break or as a reward
for doing something, maybe escaping or
avoiding priorities. Like, there's a
project that you need to do that maybe you are just stalling for time by scroll on one of these social
media platforms. Maybe you are feeling fomo,
the fear of missing out. You're feeling anxious about
missing updates or events. Like if you aren't
aware of the fact that somebody is doing something or that somebody has
posted something, you feel left out. Habit. Maybe you are just automatically opening up
an app without a reason. Like, how many times
have you reached for your phone to use
the calculator? But then you find yourself
on a social media website. Ten, 15 minutes later. How did that happen?
Another pattern is losing track of time,
like infinite scrolling. Again, going for your
gadget for a purpose, a specific purpose, and
then ending up doing something else and not realizing how you got to that point. So these are just some of the patterns that
you might notice. There are a lot of other ones that maybe I haven't
listed here, so feel free to observe
your behavior and try to see what each
of the patterns are. As you're tracking,
you're going to start to collect all this data, and as you are
collecting the data, I want you to reflect
on which apps or the habits that you're performing are draining
you the most and which are draining
your energy the most. Think about why you
opened the app each time. Again, this is an
exercise that is going to involve a lot of observing, documenting data,
and you're going to have to really be
honest with yourself. Now, you don't need to be honest with me or with the
rest of your students. Of course, I would love
it if you would be. But if you feel
more comfortable, the person that you need to
be most honest with as you do this exercise is
yourself because that's when you're going
to see the most benefits. You're going through
your reflection period, ask yourself some questions. Like, are you looking
for connection with other people
or with coworkers? Are you seeking
out entertainment? Is it because you're bored,
because you don't have enough activities
on your calendar, or maybe you don't
have enough hobbies? Or is it that you are avoiding something,
like I said earlier? Maybe there's something
that you should be doing, but you are avoiding it. So maybe figuring out why
you are avoiding that thing. This is going to define
what your trigger is. Knowing what your
trigger is helps you to make more intentional choices
with your social media. It sets the stage for creating
effective boundaries. So again, it's really
important to know why you gravitate towards
these platforms when you do. Once you know your triggers, then you can work on addressing those triggers and
fixing the core issues. Again, start by tracking
your social media usage and your emotional reactions using
some of the prompts that I mentioned in this lesson over
the next one to three days. Now, once you've
tracked your usage, come back to the next lesson, and we'll start setting up boundaries to help you
reclaim your time.
3. Boundaries that Stick: Setting boundaries is how
you take back control of your time and your energy rather than letting social
media dictate them. And there's a few different
ways that you can do this. We're going to dive into some of these methods in this lesson. The first way is by setting daily or weekly time
limits for your usage. For example, you can limit social media use to
30 minutes per day. You can only check social media for 10
minutes in the morning. If at all, I know that
some of you who are here, you probably have indulged in social media for
longer than 10 minutes, first thing after waking
up in the morning. So if that is you and if that's something that
you want to work on, then maybe this is one of those time limits that
you set up for yourself. Weekend breaks or vice versa. For example, I know some people who use social media
only on the weekends. Maybe you vouch for
something like that. Or maybe you do the
opposite where you just don't use it on the weekends and you only use it Monday
through Friday. You can also only use it during specific hours like
five to 8:00 P.M. Or maybe in the morning before you head over to
work, and that's it. You can't use it for
the rest of the day. Another way that you can set up a time limit for yourself is
by making it intentional. Set a purpose for yourself. Why are you going to log in? Is it to catch up with friends? Are you checking on
industry updates? Is it because you're going
to listen to a podcast? So figuring out
what your intent is with using a platform can
also be a time limit. It can be a timer
for yourself because once you're done
with that purpose, then you won't continue
to use the platform. Basically, you need to find what works for you and your schedule, your needs, and your goals. And the things I just listed, these are just some examples
to help you get started. So if any of these are ones
that resonated with you, then maybe you want
to use them yourself. Feel free to get creative and kind of think
the ways that you can incorporate social media and these platforms
into your life. Another way that you can create
boundaries is by creating no phone zones or
phone free times by having specific locations
or times where you cannot use your phone or log into a social
media platform. So some examples that might work for you are
during meal time. So maybe before
you're going to eat or after you're going to eat
or during your feasting, do not use your phone. I know that maybe it might be customary for you to bring your phone to
the dinner table, but maybe you leave
it in another room. Another one is before bedtime. Maybe create that
into a no phone zone. And while working. That could be another time
that you might not want to be using your phone or
indulging in social media. Once you set up
these no phone zones or no social media zones, then be firm B firm with the boundaries that you
have set up for yourself. Another boundary that
you can set up is using apps to block or
restrict access to certain platforms during
your focused work times or the times that you don't want to getting distracted with these apps or these
social media platforms. You can do this in a
variety of different ways depending on the gadget
that you are working on. But for the iPhone, you can set app limits by using Apple's
screen time feature, and you can set daily time
limits for specific apps to help you stay within your
boundaries that you created. So the way that
you can do this is by hopping onto settings, going to screen time, and
then tapping on app limits. And then on there, you can set daily time
limits for yourself for specific apps to help
you stay on track. So again, this is specific
to Apple's software, but this feature and these apps, these services are available
on all kinds of devices. So, find the one that
works for you if this is a boundary or if this
is a method that you would like to
set up for yourself. You're probably wondering
when the actual detox is going to begin. But I want to say
that setting up boundaries before your detox is crucial because
it's going to help your brain to
prepare for success. See, it's all about
building a structure, building that system
so that you don't fall back into old habits
again after your detox, because these limits
are going to help you to stay on track, and they're going to make your detox last
for the long haul. So this is what we want. We don't want this to be
just a weekend fling. We want this to a lifelong
commitment and to create that healthy relationship with your digital devices
and your social media. You want to focus on
quality interactions with your social
media over quantity. So engage with content that adds value
rather than detracts. And be sure to
have usage that is intentional rather
than scrolling just because content is
being presented to you. I want you to set a
boundary or for yourself, for your social media use today, and notice the difference. See what works for you. What is something that you want to incorporate into
your everyday life or into your weekly schedule. Now, with your boundaries set, it is time to test them
with a three day detox. Congrats on making it
this far into the course. By the way, I am
so proud of you. Now, when you're ready, join me over in the next lesson.
4. Unplug: Your Detox Challenge: Now it's time to put
those boundaries into action with a three day
social media detox. Are you ready? Don't worry. I'm here for you every
step of the way. And in this lesson,
I'm going to break down how you will
carry out your detox. The first thing
you're going to do is choose the apps or the
social media platforms that you are going to eliminate entirely for
the next three days. And then you are going to delete these apps
from your phone, and you are going to log out of those websites
on your computer. You're probably wondering now, what am I supposed to do
with those three days? I suddenly have
all of this time. This is the easy part.
This is the fun part. This is how we get creative. You can replace your
social media time that time that you
would have spent the next three days
on social media. We can replace them
with other activities that can help you
relax, recharge. Or focus, maybe be a
little bit productive. Some examples of some of the
things you might want to do. Here's some ideas for you. You can read. You can
do some exercises. Maybe there's a
workshop or a class or something at a local gym or
park that you can attend. Spend time outside, go
for a walk, go hiking, maybe go swimming,
maybe do something around your neighborhood,
journaling. You can get some of those ideas, some of those feelings that you have as you go
through this detox, write them down in a notebook
or use your computer, open up a doc and
just start writing. You can try a new recipe. So for the foodies out
there or for the people who just want to improve
their culinary skills, you can pick a recipe that
you've been wanting to try out or just pick one at random
and cook something new. Maybe try a new hobby. If you just really
don't know what to do, then look on a local
events website. And see if there's something
that you can pick up, find a local class, maybe do something
completely new that you have never imagined
yourself doing before. And these are just some of the ideas that I can
come up with right now. Make a list of some of your options of what
you can do instead. Have this list with you
so that you are ready. When you're starting to feel
like there's nothing to do. You want to already have a schedule of things to do
to replace your time with. I definitely don't recommend
just jumping in and not having any idea of what you are going to do
with your time instead. It is really, really
helpful to have a list of go to activities for yourself for these three days that you're going to
be doing your detox. As you are doing your detox, I want you to track how you
are feeling during the detox. You can use a notebook
or use your notes app, open up a doc on your computer, and some of the things that you should track are your mood. Are you feeling relaxed,
anxious, focused? Make sure to write down
any of your feelings, whether you think that they
are negative or positive. Your energy levels.
Do you feel more energized or are you feeling
a little bit more drained? What are you feeling in
terms of your energy levels without social media to
distract you and productivity? Are you getting more done? Or are you finding
more free time? What does your
productivity look like? And I want you to track how
you feel during the detox because it reveals data that you might not
notice right away, and it helps you to
reflect once you are done. It's a little bit
difficult to see the changes as they are
happening sometimes. And being able to
have this document, once you're done
with your detox, you're able to see
those changes. You can get a bird's eye view of how this exercise
affected you. I find that this
can motivate you. It can motivate you to
stick with your new habits because if you physically
see, like, on paper, there's a tangible
there's tangible evidence of the benefits that you
got from this detox, then it can be really motivating to help you to keep going. It can help you to
identify patterns and triggers that you might
not have realized before, like how we were
trying to identify triggers and patterns
earlier on in this course, there might have been some
that you missed and being able to document how you feel
throughout the detox, Might help you to
identify what some of those triggers or
those patterns are. It can help make
it easier for you to set better boundaries
in the future. Some things to keep
in mind while you are doing your detox,
prepare for challenges. I'm not going to
say that it's easy, and I'm not going to say
that it's tough because everybody has their own
individual journey, and the process is
going to be different for you than it is going
to be for the next person. You might feel the urge
to check your phone. You might experience fom. You might not experience
any of those things. You might experience relief. Now, if you do experience some of these
more of these, like, negative feelings or you
feel like you really want to check your social media, some ways that you can handle these urges are to
keep your phone in another room or to put it on airplane mode
during key moments, like when you're having dinner,
like when you're eating, having breakfast, or if you're watching a movie
or reading a book. Try to be as invested as you can in the activity
that you're doing by physically putting
your phone in a place that's a little bit more
difficult to reach for. Maybe call a friend up or a
relative or call somebody, maybe find that connection so that you don't feel
so disconnected. And you can even schedule
a time to meet up. Social media makes us feel like we are connected
all of the time. So when you sever that
quote connection, it can make you feel like
you are disconnected. When in reality, you still have the opportunity to connect with the people you
care about most. So make an effort
to connect with these people outside
of social media during your detox if
these are some of the feelings that come
up during your detox. And again, have those activities ready that we talked about
earlier in the lesson. That don't involve any screens. These activities that can help you to step
outside of yourself, try new things, or maybe engage in hobbies that you are
really passionate about. Maybe just work on
that personal growth, the things that bring
you joy, right? And with that, you can start
your three day detox and see how your time and your energy shift without that
social media usage. And after your detox, share your findings
with me, and together, we'll reflect on the changes you've noticed and how to keep
up the momentum long term. Definitely check back in, and I will see you
in three days.
5. Stay Balanced Long Term: So how do you feel? You know, this detox, it's just the first step. And now it's about maintaining the balance than those habits that you
developed for the long haul. Now that you've taken a
break, how do you feel? Were there any challenges
that you faced, I want you to reflect on how you felt during and
after your detox. Look back at those notes and all of that data
that you collected. See if you felt or feel more
focused, less stressed. Maybe you had some
of those feelings of phobo or anxiety
during your detox. Did you have more time for those meaningful activities
in life? Reflect on this. Think about this. Take a moment to
think about this. I want you to realize that
this what you just did, this isn't this isn't
a one time thing. Don't let it become
a one time thing. It's important to maintain a long term balance
with social media. And you can do this by doing
these routine detoxes, just like the one you just
did with this course. And do regular check ins, see how you're doing every
week or every month. Revisit some of those triggers and those patterns
that you noticed. See if new boundaries
need to be set up. Keep in check with yourself. Continue using the tools if you found that
they helped you, like the app timers, the phone free zones, the intentional
social media use. It's important to make
social media work for you. Be intentional about
when and why you use it. I want you to share your experience with
this three day detox and reflect on the changes that you want to
make moving forward. Keep applying the strategies
that you learned here to stay in control of your social media use
and enjoy more time and energy for the things
that truly matter to you. Remember, this is about
progress, not perfection. And every step that
you take towards a more mindful
social media use it brings you closer
to a more balanced, focused and fulfilling life. Congratulations on making it
to the end of this course. I hope that you found it useful, and I hope that you got
something positive out of this. You've got this.
I believe in you. Stay committed, keep reflecting, and don't be afraid to take
breaks when you need them. Your time is valuable. So make the most of it.
Romina, Creative Entrepreneur
