Rethinking my social media presence

When is the last time you took a good look at your social media use? I did way back before covid and I didn't like what I saw.... I was wasting time, it was draining me of my energy and I was consuming rather than creating. Not ideal.

So I did a thirty-day app and social media detox, and it was amazing, I was reading more, creating more, my house was cleaner and I had more time to exercise too. It was taking up much more of my time and energy than I realized. 

Then covid hit, school was canceled, life felt canceled and I wanted to know what was going on with my family and friends. I added the apps back and carried on, but recently I've been called to reevaluate again. I have some big goals for the next few years and I want to be engaged in my life not distracted from it!

So, after giving it a bit of thought, I've decided to streamline and declutter. There are good/fun aspects to social media that I want to keep while ditching the distraction, stress, and negativity. 

For me the stress is about feeling like I should always be doing more on social media, over the years I've created multiple pages and groups, it's been feeling like a full-time job to keep up, this feeling like I "should", should be doing all-the-things to increase engagement on my pages and I should be doing this other- list -of -things to increase engagement in my groups, and ultimately it's all designed to keep me on Facebook so I'll see more ads, right? This is not my life purpose! 

So I've decided to keep my main page, personal profile, and one Instagram account. I'll create some posts to send out regularly and do more from a place of inspiration, not "shoulds".

I'm already blogging more, on my site that I own, and making progress on various projects, and feeling generally calmer and more focused. I'm using an app called Freedom, that blocks distracting sites on a schedule or timer and it's super helpful. 90% of my checking social media or email is just a habit, pick up the phone, tap on apps...

Did you know that social sites use technology borrowed from casinos and they are actually addictive to our brains that love positive reinforcement? It's very interesting and also kind of disturbing. 

There must be something in the air because I've received several emails and messages this week from entrepreneurs that I follow and friends feeling the same way. 

Check out the digital decluttering course here if you are interested in learning more and realigning your device, web, and app use with your values, as well as organizing your files and photos. It's also included in the Decluttering Deep Dive. 

Now on to the blog posts! New on the Elevate with Gael blog, check out my favorite business tools and seven income streams that I'm building (can you see why I don't have time to waste). https://www.elevatewithgael.com/blog If you scroll through, you'll see my posts on marketing without Facebook ads, writing 12 books in 12 months and more. 

Comment below and let me know if you struggle with social media as a distraction too, and what your goals are for your business/life. The doors to Elevate are opening soon so you might want to jump on the waitlist, spots will be limited because I include coaching calls for all new members, and I can only do so many. Waitlisters will get first dibs. :)

Have an amazing day, and remember the little things create the big things!

Gael