November was a life-changing month for Taylor and I, and I say that not to be dramatic but it really, really was. We both set the individual parameters for how we were/weren’t going to navigate social media and streaming for the month and I think we both reaped many benefits. Before I jump into those, I’d like to share a few quick statistics, because I am a numbers gal after all:
Daily average spent on my phone in October: 3 hours 17 minutes
Daily average spent on my phone in November: 53 minutes – my lowest day being 13 minutes (!)
Total books read: 5! For reference, sometimes it takes me months to finish one book, MONTHS! Taylor read 4
Total local hikes taken: 3
Total knitting projects finished: 1 (B’s stocking) and I cast on a Christmas gift that’s almost half done
What these stats tell me is that I spent less time browsing social media seeing everything that you were up to, and I got to spend more time doing things that I really enjoy i.e. reading, knitting, finishing up handmade Christmas gifts, etc. Oh, and sleep. I was getting at least 8-9 hours of sleep each night… or I should say, I was in a bed for 8-9 hours, sometimes that bed was B’s and I was awake for some time nursing/snuggling him. But overall, we both slept more.
We also both barely drank alcohol during the month. Now I know this doesn’t have anything to do with social media but it does have something to do with streaming / watching entertainment. We both tend to drink while “relaxing” on the couch watching something and because we weren’t on the couch watching anything… we just subconsciously didn’t drink. Not only did we save money by not purchasing alcohol, but we also slept better not having that in our systems before bed and we both felt more rested the next day. We did try the Athletic Brewing non-alcoholic beer the week of Thanksgiving and it’s tasty! We’ve had a couple of conversations re: alcohol this month and I’ll share more of that at a later time, but for now, we’re both living by the motto “less is more.”
Other benefits we’ve experienced:
- our home has never been tidier (not cleaner, tidier)
- sex life is better than ever (TMI? Never!)
- my to-do list is dwindling
- I never fell behind on laundry – in fact, I’m now down to two loads each week, folded and put away that same day!
I admittedly did not miss Facebook whatsoever and my habit for clicking over to it throughout the day has been broken. I did miss FB messenger and the conversations I share there with a group of moms, but other than that, I can say Facebook literally brings nothing but stress to my life. I did miss Instagram and was overwhelmed this evening when I signed on and began scrolling – I will be making drastic cuts of accounts I follow to lessen that feeling and laser in on my intentions for that app: which is to be connected and inspired. I did not miss Netflix and we’ve decided as a couple to not watch anything… get this, for more than an hour (total) a week. We do want to finish the Great British Baking Show but other than that, we personally have no desire to sit and waste time in front of a screen to relax.
Apps I’ll be adding back to my phone: Spotify, especially now that B’s weekly music classes have ended and… that’s it! It has been so so freeing not having my personal email on my phone and only checking it during business hours (usually on my lunch hour). It’s also NBD to not have my phone at work – far more productive! I really could go on and on about this digital reset and I hope with all my shared enthusiasm, someone out there reading this will be motivated to complete a digital reset of their own.
On a different topic: how adorable is this corner of B’s room?
