This is part of an ongoing blog post series called ‘Alchemy Every 10 Days,’ post 1 of 10.

Why I’m Focusing on Less Screen Time and More of Anything Else

Y’all, I spend too much time on social media and on my phone in general. When I look at my screen time, I am not too happy with what I see. I’ve been having this problem ever since I started blogging and sharing my journey on social media 5 years ago. While I understand that because of what I do with blogging, creating, and sharing online, it makes sense that I would be on my phone more than usual. And, I also recognize that given the nature of social media, it’s only natural that a lot of us will find ourselves on there more than we would like because of its addictiveness. However, I am aware that sometimes I overdo it. LOL! 

What is at the core of this is that I recognize the extra unnecessary time I spend on my phone and social media could be used for other things like dancing more, writing more, creating more, reading more, doing something new or fun, actually resting my brain, or more of anything else, with just less screen time in general. 

My “Check & Post Later” Approach

In light of this, I’m trying a new approach I’m calling “check & post later.” I’ve always thought about doing this but never actually tried it, which means saving checking social media and posting for later in the day, after I’ve completed my routines and goals. I actually tried this the other day and ended up getting a new idea! I then realized that when I step away from social media, I tend to get new ideas.

Starting My Alchemy Every 10 Days Series

That new idea I got the other day is a blog post series where I share reflections from a book I’m reading, The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad. This post marks the start of the series! YAY!

The Book of Alchemy includes 100 stories by different people, each ending with a journaling prompt. I’m absolutely loving the book so far and enjoy responding to the prompts in my notebook. It’s been inspiring and emotional for me but in all the best ways.

My goal is to finish the book in 100 days, as the author encourages, but I’m focusing on doing it 10 days at a time. 

After each 10 days, I plan on sharing one reflection that came up from either the reading or a journaling prompt in a blog post. I believe this will help me with the intention of writing more that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

So let’s get started…

A Day Spent Doing More Of Anything Else Is Better Than

“For writers, a day spent writing is a good day — always. A day spent writing is de facto better than a day spent avoiding writing.” – Dani Shapiro

In chapter 1, there were several quotes I loved and prompts I enjoyed, but I chose the above quote because it resonated the most with me trying to work on doing more of anything else and decreasing my screen time. 

When I first read it, I immediately thought of dancing! A day spent dancing, even just once, is better than a day without it because dancing is life.

While I want to dance more, I feel the same about writing. Having two creative outlets sometimes makes me laugh because I don’t always know which direction to go in but I want to find a way to do both.

Even though the quote above is about writing, I feel like it can be applied to doing anything that is creative, fuels, or benefits you. I absolutely feel like a day spent dancing, writing, or doing anything that fulfills you is better than not doing anything at all or giving unnecessary time to your phone and social media. 

Social Media Isn’t Bad, I Just Want to Focus on My Life First

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying social media is bad, nor do I want this to sound like I’m judging myself for how much time I spend on it. I’ve been there and done that, deleting accounts, taking breaks, and yes, sometimes criticizing myself for being on there more than I needed to. But after all those restarts, I feel like I’m in a better place when it comes to social media. I genuinely enjoy being on there and sharing my journey, but I also want to make sure it doesn’t take over my time or affect my mental health.

That’s why I’m trying the “check & post later” approach. My hope is that doing more of the things I love and enjoy, such as dancing, writing, creating, resting, or just more of anything else, while focusing on my routines and goals first before opening the apps and posting, will help me feel more accomplished and overall better.

So Far, How It’s Going

I’ve only been trying this “check & post later” approach for a couple of days, but each day I notice a big improvement in how I feel. Finishing this blog post before checking social media already makes today feel amazing because I dedicated more time to something I enjoy first before opening the apps. 

Did you enjoy this post? Click here to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know when I publish a new post via email!

As always, thank you for being here! <3