Sup Muses?!
In the last post, I introduced digital wellness, what it meant to me and how I was dealing with an drastic increase in my screen time when the Philly shelter in place mandates happened in mid-March. I saw everyone’s comments about using their phones less (or more) and what everyone is doing to create balance. The feedback was refreshing and I am happy digital wellness is resonating with so many. In this post I’m talking about why a social media fast isn’t feasible, when I use my phone the most and what I’m doing to try and reduce my usage.
For a month, I shut off my phone by 9:30/10pm on the weeknights (using the screen time settings) and that worked great, then I stopped and now, right before I go to sleep, I catch myself scrolling more than any other time. Why? It’s mindless + easy and instead of quieting my mind, I tell myself this will do, and …
Is a social media fast feasible? No, not really. I’ve made a commitment this year to post more on Instagram and increase my engagement. That means I need to be on IG! I also like sharing content (especially stories) with everyone. The feedback and conversations have been fruitful and educational (sometimes funny.)
So what am I doing to help mitigate the effects of screens?
I have f.lux on my computer which is software to make your computer's display adapt to the time of day.
My phone adjusts automatically to the time of day which helps with the blue light interference, especially in the evening. If you have an iPhone, learn more here.
A very crucial thing I do is put my phone on do not disturb when I go to sleep or when I need to do work. If I put it on DND, then my watch won’t send me a notification either. I know people hesitate about DND, but it is wonderful. If you text me at 11pm and I miss it, I was sleep bruh, so I’ll answer in the AM!
What’s proven beneficial for me is to put my phone in another room when I need to be productive. For instance, this blog post should have been done about 2 weeks ago, but literally every time I sat down, I got distracted (yikes!!) When I am working on a puzzle or working out, that’s my top priority and reminding myself of that helps. “Jordan keep yourself focused girl!”
I use my phone for devotionals, workouts, yoga, some zoom calls and a few other apps that I check solely on my phone. So with that being said, I plan to keep using technology, but listen, this is the important part: BE MINDFUL. Just like everything else in health and wellness, being mindful and moderation will help you reach your goals and not over do one thing. The solution is to hold yourself accountable and purposefully step away even if you want to send a super funny meme to your group chat!
I won’t bore you with peer reviewed journal articles about the impacts of increased screen time on you, I am sure you’ve heard it or can search it. Know this: posture imbalances, finger issues called by texting and eye sight strains are REAL conditions all caused by our increase in screen time
baby steps…
Let’s keep this conversation going. What apps do you have to help? Are you doing any stretches? How many monitors are you looking at in one sitting!? (I’m doing the most!!)
xo
JM