Weekend Wrap-Up: A Social Media Free Weekend

I did it!!! I spent the weekend away from social media… and it was so, so refreshing!!!

On Friday, Matt and I had a marathon of the last 2 Harry Potters – staying up until almost 2am finished them (yes, we’re well aware how dorky that sounds).

The rest of the weekend, I did laundry, had a pizza/movie night with 2 of my best friends, vacuumed the house & cleaned the bathrooms, coached my cheer squad at a basketball game, read a book, and did a few FUN crafts (you know, the kind that have absolutely nothing to do with a shoot or a blog, and everything to do with making me happy)!

one of my “fun” crafts: VDAY cards for sweet friends

I did ALL of that this weekend, y’all. Why? Because I didn’t spend time aimlessly on Facebook; I didn’t spend time trying to find the perfect light for my Instagram photo; and I didn’t waste time envying what’s on Pinterest. I just did what I WANTED to do. I tackled to-do’s and made sure I had down-time, too. It was really, really great.

Here are a few tips I have before doing a Social Media Free Weekend:

-Check your motives. Like the Contentment Challenge, this isn’t something to do just because others are doing it. You have to see a NEED for it in your life. You have to truly want it. If you don’t, it will either be really hard or you won’t learn a thing.

-Plan the weekend ahead of time. My goal is one a month; I looked at my schedule the beginning of February and realized Feb 7-9 would be perfect. I made sure I had a few things on my schedule (cheerleading, dinner with friends, Harry Potter night, etc.),  so that I wasn’t just sitting at home being tempted to  get on Facebook; but I also wanted some down-time so that I could truly relax & do things I love to do (reading, crafting for fun, etc.).

-Delete the Apps off of your Phone. Friday night I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter AND Pinterest apps off of my phone. This may seem a little radical; and, my long-term goal is to have them on my phone, and not be tempted to use them. But I was too afraid I’d mess up; too afraid I’d be tempted & not self-disciplined enough to stay away from them. PLUS, we click on them out of habit! I picked up my phone 3 times on Friday night and clicked where my Instagram app used to be, only it wasn’t there anymore! Old habits die hard. So, for me, deleting the apps keeps me from clicking them out of habit OR because I’m tempted too.

-ENJOY it!!! This is the entire point of the weekend!! Honestly, I was really anxious about it before I did it. Friday night I almost decided not to do it… and that in itself reminds me how much I NEEDED to do it!! Sure, there were a few times I wanted to click on my Instagram & see what was happening, but in the reality of it, it was ONLY a little more than 2 days. That’s it. Being Social Media Free is never something I could do long-term because of DSE – Facebook & Instagram are HUGE for my business; and Pinterest is how I work with my brides. But just because I can’t do it more often, doesn’t mean I can’t dedicate 1 weekend a month to enjoying what matters most… and I think you should, too 🙂

Have you done a Social Media Free weekend? Have you thought about doing one? If you ever do a Social Media Free Weekend, I’d LOVE to hear how it goes for you!!

I truly do feel more refreshed & ready for my week… there’s a fun feature coming to Heart Love Weddings TOMORROW, some big news on the DSE front & I’m wrapping things up for a amazing styled shoot on Saturday… oh, and it’s Valentine’s Week! What do YOU have planned this week??

xo! kat