Lesson's Learned; deleting socials and writing love letters.
A series about relearning how to live in my 30's
Hello, I’m Laura. I write about relearning to live in my 30’s with themes of creativity, healing and self discovery. Subscribe to support my work & to read more
Although I haven’t picked up The Artist’s Way for a couple of weeks I have continued with my morning pages (3 pages of stream of consciousness every morning) and going on my artist’s date (a creative date with yourself) each week. I have also deleted my socials (other than here) so here are my lesson’s learned this month.
I originally deleted social media in a bid to feel stronger connections with people, however, this has been equal parts amazing and disappointing. Amazing because when I do speak to people we have things to share (that I haven’t already posted/seen) and disappointing because, well, some friends who I thought would embrace this keep ghosting my messages and pushing back our plans.
Something that I hadn’t thought about when deleting socials was the amount of time I would have. I used to get in from work, make a brew and have some ‘down time’ which basically meant scrolling TikTok and Instagram. Now I come home from work, make a brew, listen to a podcast and start cooking or sorting a bit of washing or just doing something that means by 7pm everyone is fed, watered, bathed and I have an evening of possibilities ahead of me.
Creatively, I am overflowing with ideas at the moment and I am really having to slow myself right down. Balance is something I am seeking and as much as I don’t want to limit my creative time I also must remember that spending time with others and doing things that are good for my holistic wellbeing are important for fuelling that creativity.
I have been exploring love letters as part of my creative journey, I think the fascination is due to the exploration of self-love and compassion at my moon circle meetings. On the new moon I made little love letters that people could take if they felt they needed one and it really did bring me so much joy.
Although deleting socials has many benefits, the one down side is actually having to sit with my uncomfortable feelings when I don’t really want to. If I’m feeling a little anxious or overwhelmed I can no longer distract myself with endless scrolling on TikTok - long term this should be positive but short term, not so much.
Haven't quite deleted my socials yet, but I'm finally down to spending only 30 mins on IG a day. I'm loving my slower evenings lately – cooking from scratch with music in the background, plenty of reading, full skincare routines... A dream!
Only 30mins a day on IG is just so good for the soul, TikTok is the one I find hardest to stay off but I know I will be doom scrolling if I go back there