What Distractions Can You Get Rid Of This Year?

January 6, 2020

As the new year approached, I began to take stock again of what distractions were holding me back from unleashing my creative outlets. The usual suspects came up:

• Too much time on my phone
• Scrolling through social media
• Physical clutter in our house
• Constantly checking email

Like most people, my distractions come in the form of my smart phone so it was time to make more distract changes. After a free write in my journal, it was clear to me that it was time to get rid of Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Like their counterpart, Facebook, I was getting sucked into the scroll. The news headlines were changing my mood and I didn’t like it. Seeing pictures of people I didn’t know on the gram was giving me FOMO.

So it was time to give them the ax. There is one caveat to the mix. I had created an Instagram page for family and close friends only. That way I knew everyone on the list and felt an immediate connection to them. I set the account to private and made sure that only people who I approved could see this.

There were a couple people I followed on the page whose pages were uplifting and I kept them around but anyone who brought negativity got the boot. There is less than 100 people on this account, because like I said these are close family and friends.

When this came up in my journaling, I didn’t question it at all. Instead, I got off, grounded myself and started deleting accounts. It’s amazing how much lighter I felt immediately. I do find myself in a place sometimes where I think I should be doing something, but it was me trying to fill the time I spent mindlessly scrolling.

I never thought I would be able to get rid of my social media accounts. I always thought I needed them to connect with people in the outside world, but it’s not true. This allows me to connect with people on face to face basis instead of stalking them online.

The next day I purged several bags of stuff I was holding onto for no good reason. It was wasn’t much but it was enough to make a difference in my attitude. Clearing out these spaces that were major distractions in my life have opened space to fill with grander ideas and creativity to spread through love to large groups of people. With the distractions clouding my headspace, there was no room for much more.

What distractions are holding you back from greatness?