Since the beginning of the year, I’d somehow managed to stick to a morning and evening routine I loved.

In the mornings, I would get up early to meditate, journal, and prepare for a productive day ahead.

And in the evenings, I would set a tranquil mood with candles and soothing indie music, while I sipped on some tea and immersed myself in a captivating book for two blissful hours before bed.

My evening routine helped calm down my nervous system, while my morning routine activated my mindfulness mode.

I’m using past tense because, about a month ago, I noticed something insidious happen that completely shattered my routine.

You know how they say, sometimes, you may find yourself in a particular state and ponder, “By what means did I arrive at this point?”

Well, that was me at the beginning of last month -literally.

As the month began, I found myself in a bewildering state of low energy and dwindling productivity. The once-bright flames of motivation I had seemed to flicker and fade.

Perplexed, I asked myself all sorts of questions: what’s happening to me? What’s going on? What’s the cause of this sudden downfall?

And there it was, lurking in the shadows: overindulgence in social media.

I found myself watching endless Reels, Shorts, and TikToks as the hours melted away, unconsciously searching for an elusive sense of satisfaction.

Before I knew it, the girl who was always off to bed by 9:00 p.m. every night was now mindlessly scrolling through the night -losing touch with reality with each scroll.

I felt like an empty shell whenever I would get sucked into this social media trance.

It was as though my consciousness was transferred to the phone, while my fingers continued their scrolling dance; I felt like an unwitting participant in a Black Mirror episode.

Anyway, in a desperate bid to reclaim my former self, I turned to the world of self-help knowledge.

I landed on a book written by Cal Newport titled, “Deep Work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world.

Its reviews were good, and the title showed promise that it contained the solutions I was seeking; so, I purchased it.

The first part of the book told two intriguing stories about Carl Jung, the renowned psychiatrist, and Mark Twain the author of a book I enjoyed during my teenage years: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Here’s a summary of the stories:

In 1922, Carl Jung wanted to change the way we understood the unconscious, and this goal required deeper, more careful thought than he could manage amid his hectic city life.

So, he escaped to the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, near the northern banks of Lake Zurich, to a village named Bollingen where he built a two-story stone house he called the Tower.

During his stay in the Tower, Jung was able to stay sharp and produce a stream of smart articles and books that further supported and established analytical psychology, the eventual name for his new school of thought.

Mark Twain wrote much of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in a shed on the property of the Quarry Farm in New York, where he was spending the summer.

This shed was so isolated from the main house that his family took to blowing a horn to attract his attention for meals.

Oh, how I envied these two men…I yearned for my own Tower or shed that I could escape to, where social media would never find me.

As I gazed disdainfully at my phone, a realization struck me: my escape lay not in physical structures but in reclaiming my old routines that involved more candles and books and less phone and social media.

So, I embarked on the journey back to my cherished routines.

I have to say, returning to my former state was no easy task, it required discipline and perseverance; I felt like an addict battling withdrawal.

Sometimes, my hand would reach out for the phone as if it had a mind of its own; and each time, I had to make a conscious effort to resist the temptation.

Gradually, I reestablished boundaries, shutting off my phone by 9:00 p.m. and only checking it during designated times.

I now feel more relaxed and energized, and my ability to maintain focus for extended periods has blossomed once more.

We all have distractions that we often let get out of hand and suck all the energy we require to work on our goals and dreams -my distraction is social media, yours could be something else.

Actionable takeaway:

This week, I invite you to reflect on your distractions and how you might have let them get out of hand.

They could be, watching television, playing video games, food, alcohol, etc. -it doesn’t matter, just write them down.

After you’ve listed them down, I want you to acknowledge their hold on your focus and explore ways to eliminate or manage them effectively.

Remember, you hold the power and you can overcome any distractions.

Your goals are waiting to be realized, don’t keep them waiting.

Cynthia A. Murungi
Cynthia A. Murungi
Hey there! Welcome to thehealseekers, a space created to expand women's consciousness in metaphysics, psychology, and self-development. I hope you find inspiration here!

One Reply to “Ending My Affair with Social Media”

  1. This is a good topic to ponder on . Hmmm my affair with social media is a tricky one I wud say it’s two way for me destructive as well as an asset to many aspects good thing is I limit the kind of content so most of the algorithms with my socials bring what’s more of educative n informative. But good thing I always notice the time wen it becomes destructive n sort of step back from it. Which leads me to my next destructive habit which is food n eating but am making good progress with training myself to fast. N I must say fasting feels great

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