Intentionally, I’m trying to refrain from calling this a break from certain social media platforms or being online, because that overlooks the reason someone might do those things.

I’m giving myself the opportunity to be bored. I want to be more present. I don’t want to start my day reading the new plight of the day. No news, good or bad. No new hype.

Over the past few years, I’ve been better about self moderation on certain subjects, which helps, but I increasingly find myself picking up new (or revisiting) hobbies or interests and getting caught up in those bubbles.

I don’t want to know what people are hyped about. I want to know what I am hyped about.

I have no dates associated with this cleanse, but here have been my intentional choices:

I removed all social media from my phone. No twitter, no YouTube, no Reddit.

There was a good 10 year break from Reddit, I used to only look at YouTube intentionally for certain things, and I want a break from caring about my online presence.

As small as my online presence is, it was something I checked throughout the day.

I don’t know if this behavior is good or bad, but I do think it is always good to switch things up to see.

I’m giving myself the grace of viewing these things when I login to my computer for the day, with the intention of being more mindful. I’m really busy once I login to my computer for the day, so as a byproduct, I’ll be visiting twitter (for example) less.

There are certain “channels” on YouTube I have grown to enjoy. The concern I am seeing is that there is an endless supply. I would watch before falling asleep and skim for something right as I wake. No opportunity for myself to end or start the day.

My hope is I find more balance to be present with the people around me, and give myself more time to do the creative work I like to do.

This all being said, it sounds like my focus is on a cleanse fixing my issues. It’s not. This is one thing I’m changing a for a while that is part of my recent choice to be less stressed, have more time to be creative, be more present, and get better sleep.

Other things I am choosing to do:

• Take a break from caffeine
• Increase my workouts
• Remove all work related (email, teams, etc) apps from my phone
• Blocking off more of my calendar
• Spend even more quality time with family and friends
• Another attempt at giving up nicotine
• Budget more vacation

My home screen looks incredibly boring now