As a content creator, it's easy to use "learning and finding inspiration" as an excuse for being on social media.

There's certainly some truth to this, but we often end up spending more time scrolling than necessary.

Worse still, we lose ourselves to trends without even realising it.

How I prepared for my social media detox

I deleted all social media apps from my phone.

On my MacBook, I installed SelfControl and set a timer for 7 days, totaling 168 hours.

I gave myself the leeway to continue posting online through content scheduling tools and keep up with social DMs using Beeper. This eliminated any excuses to avoid the challenge, since I could still continue sharing content and stay in touch with a few key contacts.

I also logged the detox as an experiment in my Experiments app, using it to check in and jot down notes each day throughout the 7 day period.

Spending more time with my own thoughts and ideas

After taking a full week off social media, my biggest realisation was how much more time I got to spend with my own thoughts and ideas.

On a typical day with social media, I’m constantly whether consciously or not downloading new ideas, opinions, and trends. Most of the time, it leads to shiny object syndrome, making me question if the grass is greener on the other side.

In contrast, this past week gave me space to build on my own thinking and actually execute on my ideas.

Learning to let go of what I can't control

My second takeaway was learning to let go of what’s beyond my control. While I continued sharing updates on social media, I wasn’t there to see the reactions. This left me feeling uneasy about others' thoughts and whether the content resonated with them at all.

But I reminded myself that my goal was to share, and I did just that. So why worry over what I can’t control?

Yes, I missed the back-and-forth in the comments and interactions with others. But at the same time, it felt freeing not to judge my work based on likes or external metrics.

Replacing my time on social media

I swapped out my short breaks with playing the keyboard, solving a Rubik’s Cube, and stretching, though I’ve definitely been spending way more time on the keyboard since it’s become my new favourite hobby.

These activities actually leave me with a sense of accomplishment after each session, something social media rarely gives. If anything, scrolling usually leaves me feeling drained from the flood of information.

More importantly, I’ve also learned to embrace boredom and just be still during those in-between moments.

In a strange way, not using social media made me realise just how often I was using it.

What’s next

I plan to repeat this experiment as a practice every few months, as I find it refreshing for my creativity and productivity.

Stepping away from the constant noise of social media helped me reconnect with my thoughts and double down on my ideas without getting sidetracked.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by social media, I highly recommend taking a break for 7 days as an experiment.