Day one of my six-month digital detox.
Today I caught myself three times reaching for Facebook and twice for Instagram — pure habit. The detox my family jokes about has officially begun.

It is a detox, but more than that, it’s a conscious choice: to spend better, fuller time with myself, and with others too.

I know it will take a few days to adjust. I don’t need to photograph everything I see or do. I don’t have to constantly think about what I might post. My ideas don’t disappear just because I’m offline — they can live somewhere else, grow somewhere quieter.

We’re not designed to make thousands of decisions a day. That’s why we’re taught to do the most important thing first, before we run out of steam. And we’re certainly not meant to communicate with so many people, all the time. That was the part of social media I found hardest. I loved the people I followed, and I genuinely appreciated those who followed me — but having so many conversations every day began to feel unsustainable.

I know this will be good for me. And despite the warnings — that people might not want to collaborate as much, that the algorithm will forget me, that I’ll have to start again — none of that scares me.

In fact, my phone surprised me today when it pinged with a sale, gently reminding me that there are many other ways to connect, to communicate, and to keep things flowing.