What Deleting Social Media Taught Me

The trend of deleting social medial is all the rage online. People claiming all sorts of benefits and advantages to either deleting all their distracting apps or just not using their phone at all, and encouraging others to do the same thing too. When deciding to delete social media, I didn't fall into the hype because of what I read online, but rather because my final exams were coming up and I wanted to focus. Just as simple as that!

So sometime in mid-June, I deleted the 3 most distracting apps from my phone; Instagram, Twitter, and 小红书 (a Chinese app similar to Pinterest/Instagram) and gave myself 3 weeks to go without, and this is what I learnt!

THERE IS SO MUCH TIME IN THE DAY

Usually, I get to the end of my day and wonder where all my time went. How is it already 8pm? When did it get so dark outside? When you think about it, you may only spend your time scrolling through your apps in 10 minute increments, but those 10 minutes add up fast during the day. They eat up your time and before you know it, you've reached the end of the day with nothing to show for it. I found that whenever I was bored, I'd switch through those 3 apps just for something to do and those 10 minutes would become hours very soon, and it would be a scramble to get something done that should have been done ages ago.

I found that by deleting social media, I was less rushed and could take my time in doing what I wanted to. The first couple of days were honestly painfully long, but on day 3, I woke up and got into the swing of my new routine.

I AM EASILY DISTRACTED

When I study, I set a timer on my phone and put it somewhere I can't reach. To do this, I use the app Forest because if you exit out of the app, the tree you select to grow will die. Sadly, an update to the app now means you can exit out of the app, use your phone as normal with the timer still running in the back and your tree won't die! So, I found that when a lecture was on the boring or difficult side, I was able to "give myself a small break" and scroll through Twitter or update my Instagram story, which meant I was ultimately getting nothing done.

Not having these apps anymore meant that even if something was hard or not that interesting, I literally had to force myself into continuing. Again, the first few days were hard but after giving it some time, I was able to adjust. If I found my mind drifting off, I'd have a stretch and motivate myself to keep going with a snack (or several!)

NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE SHARED ONLINE

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love to update my stories with basically everything I'm doing, cooking, eating, where I'm going etc. Part of it is because I live in China and want to share my experiences online, but another part is because I just love taking photos and find satisfaction in people commenting on the photos and whatnot.

This gets exhausting - every blogger and their mum has spoken about how stressful and tiring it can be to keep up with both your everyday life and your online life on top of that, and I get those feelings very often. Getting rid of Instagram was a relief because I didn't need to share what I ate or did that day. I didn't think "How many people have viewed my story today?" or "What time is it, I need to post something", or anything along those lines. I could just do anything and leave it at that!

Having re-downloaded my Instagram has made me realise that I genuinely enjoy capturing everything, but it still shouldn't be at my expense.

BEING OUT OF THE LOOP IS OKAY

One of the things about social media that draws me in and keeps me hooked is how I like feeling like I'm on top of the news and trends and whatnot. Twitter can find out the breaking story or latest meme before anything else, and finding out about something as soon as it drops is a weird enjoyment of mine. But when I got rid of Twitter and got out of that bubble, I was left with the realisation that it really doesn't matter!

In fact, going back on Twitter has put it in even greater perspective, as I see that getting most of my information from social media (and ultimately from other people, strangers, and their opinions) is really a disservice to myself. Sometimes it's fine to just not know anything, and after the events of May/June, it's important to log off for a while.

READ: Turning Your FOMO into JOMO

As well as all of this, I found myself way more productive and happier overall! Removing the pressure of just your presence simply being online was amazing, and I would definitely delete my social media again or even make a habit out of doing it regularly! Being left alone with just my thoughts and no one else's opinions let me know myself more and I enjoyed that too.

Have you ever deleted social media? What did you learn?

15 Things To Stop Doing For A Happier You

We all do things that may make us unhappy for a time, and constantly doing these things will definitely make us unhappy for much longer than need be. Over time, we get used to sticking to the default and eventually these actions become habits that are difficult to break away from. Sometimes, the people around you also become used to this default version of you that these actions are now expected of you too, and if it's one thing I don't like, it's being put in a box and having expectations put on me.

Today I want to share some things that we all (me included) need to stop doing. Things that are reflex actions and not carefully thought out, leading to being placed in that box mentioned above. Have a look at the list and see if you do any of these things.

1. Stop procrastinating

I have a whole ton of blog posts about productivity, because if it's one thing that just doesn't sit right with me, it's not being productive!  You can have a read through them right here.

2. Stop apologising for everything

This is a habit I had trouble breaking but now that I have, life is just so much... easier. I don't know where that habit came from but if it's one thing I want to say to past me it's this: chill out because not everything is your fault!

3. Stop being the "yes" man

If you want to be a better friend (or a better person in general), stop being the "yes" man! Tell people when they've messed up, and how they can improve. Don't allow people to go through life without letting them know where or how they can improve. Trust me, it sounds daunting at first but if they're someone who deserves to be in your life, they'll thank you for it.

4. Stop comparing

This is something I need to work on, especially being in medical school where for some people, grades are everything. They're important, but not the be all and end all. If you think someone is better than you in some way, don't forget that you're only seeing their highlight reel, and not the full picture.

5. Stop judging

Judgement is an ugly colour, and I hate when people just pass judgements without knowing the full story. Discernment is important to have, but if you find yourself throwing judgements around left, right, and centre, take a look at why that is.

6. Stop allowing people to make decisions for you

Ooohhh, this is a big one, and one that will undoubtedly make anyone feel some kind of way. However,I do feel like in this current social and political climate, people are more upfront and unapologetic about what they want, and that's amazing.

7. Stop spending money on things that don't add joy to your life
Self explanatory. Just stop it.

8. Stop focusing on the negatives

If you were gifted a beautiful piece of art but saw a tiny notch on the frame, would it take away the overall beauty of the painting? Of course not! I apply this analogy to life whenever I catch myself in a string of negative thoughts and I think it really helps.

9. Stop being so hard on yourself

When I think of all I've been through and all I've managed to accomplish, I can't continue being hard on myself anymore because I remember that if I've been through all that I can go through anything (as cheesy as that sounds...) Please give yourself a break. You deserve it.

10. Stop making excuses for people
Sometimes, what people need is to be told where they've gone wrong and where they can improve. If someone's doing something that you know is wrong but you give them a pass, explore why that is and work on fixing it.

11. Stop making excuses for yourself
See as above.

12. Stop holding onto items that have no use in your life
We're in the age of Marie Kondo-ing everything we have, and I for one love it! I'm working on shifting to being more minimal, and it's actually harder than I thought. I came to China with a lot of stuff that I thought I'd need, and decluttering them all will take some time.

13. Stop eating food you know isn't good for you
All my take-away lovers say HEY! I freaking looove food, and sometimes it's easy to just think "whatever, I know I had a burger yesterday, but if I have another one today, my next one will be at the weekend". Just me? Well, those burgers may taste good in the moment, but when your digestion starts suffering as a result, you'll only have yourself to blame.

14. Stop neglecting your sleep schedule
My sleep schedule has been through it all - I've been on top of it, I've been on track for a time, then I've gone around and completely neglected it. As I get older (I'm only 22 but I think about old age more often than I think I should...), I'm learning that sleep is super super important and if I don't want to be a half-functioning zombie, I should try to sleep better. Nancy wrote a great blog post about sleeping better, which you can check out right here.

15. Stop holding grudges
I think of holding a grudge with the analogy that you're allowing someone to live in your mind rent-free! Most of the time, they've moved on from whatever it is that transpired and you're still going through that scenario over and over again. It is absolutely not worth it.

How do you fare when it comes to these things? Anything you need to work on? Tell me below!

RELATED POST: 10 Lists To Make When You're In a Funk

My Self Care Routine

 

Hey everyone and welcome back to another blog post! It's been a minute since I posted anything, but I don't want to bore anyone with yet another update post, but I do want to give you guys a few updates nonetheless!

1) I've now finished my first year of university, and I finished top of my class! (I'm so proud of this fact I want to tell as many people as I can hehe.) We spent this last academic year learning Chinese and even though it was challenging at times, I powered through and now I'm on the other side!

2) I'm completely done with the previous semester, and now I'm on a long summer break. I'll (hopefully) be travelling around my city and to other provinces around China too, so look forward to seeing that!

3) Next semester, I begin my major, which if you don't know by now, is medicine! I want to do a whole post on why I decided to apply for medicine, and why I came to China, so look forward to that too!

Now we can get into this post: my self-care routine. Saying I've just gone through one of the most challenging years of my life is an understatement: I have no words to describe how tough it's been since September, which is why I devised a routine to help me get through it all. I hope you enjoy this post!

CLEAN UP AND DO LAUNDRY

The very first thing I do is begin tidying up around the room. I have a roommate, which in China means sharing an actual room with someone, not just a flat, so we split cleaning evenly. Other than the areas we both share, I also clean up my personal areas, like my desk, bed and wardrobe.

I fold up clothes, put my desk in order and change my beddings to give a fresh new vibe. I also take this time to do laundry and hang the wet clothes out on the balcony (tumble dryers aren't really common over here, especially in university dorms, but since it's summer and incredibly hot, all my clothes will be dry the next day!) Cleaning is something so therapeutic to me, and it's just the act of doing it that already makes me start feeling much calmer.

SHOWER AND SKINCARE

The next thing I do is my skincare routine, then take a really hot shower. I like to wash my face out of the shower because the water in there is way too hot to be good for your face, and I love to listen to music while I do it. I promise I will have a post up soon with all my favourite products, so look forward to that!

My full skincare routine currently goes like this: cleanse, exfoliate, clay mask, toner, sheet mask, serum, moisturiser.

After my clay mask but before the toner, I hop in the shower and use my niacinamide body scrub. I ordered it online and I use it 3 to 4 times a week, ever since I got a ton of mosquito bites that have left some gnarly scars, but I haven't used it long enough to see any serious effects. It does leave my skin super soft though and has a lovely smell so I'll continue using it!

When I hop out of the shower, I continue with the rest of my skincare routine.

TEA AND NAILS

Doing my nails, especially when they're chipped and looking a bit worse for wear, makes me feel so much better! I don't know what it is but I always make sure to do this if I'm feeling stressed and it improves my mood greatly. While I'm doing this I either have a cup of milk tea or black tea nearby and I'm sipping on that, listening to a podcast or some music and doing my nails. Sounds absolutely perfect if you ask me!

I get all my nail polishes from Miniso because I decided to leave all the ones from the UK back home so I could try new colours out here, and so far I've loved all the ones I've bought.

WATCH SOMETHING INSPIRING OR MOTIVATING

Once my nails are dry and looking pretty, I like to head to my bed and bring out my tablet to watch some YouTube videos. I love the channel Jubilee for their thought provoking videos about differences amongst different groups of society (definitely one to check out!) I also love my usual YouTubers like Lavendaire for when I need that dose of inspiration.

I'll typically spend an hour watching these videos, which sounds like an awfully long time but honestly if I need to fully chill out and enjoy myself that day, I don't look at the time and stress myself out even more. I watch for as long as I need to, especially the week our exams were wrapping up I definitely needed this time in the evening to just be a potato and do something chill.

VISIT MY FRIENDS

Depending on how the evening progresses, I may feel like popping into my friend's rooms and hanging out here for a while too. One of the best things about living in uni accommodation is that everyone from class lives a few doors down, and if you need anything you can just knock on their door. I've got classmates on every floor of the building and some even live right next door so it's great to go visit someone or have them come see me when we're stressed out and needing to vent.

We always visit each other with the intention of only staying for a couple of hours max, but the thing about being around people that make you happy is hours and hours will go by and before you know it, it's already 1am and you're still having fun!

CALL PEOPLE BACK HOME

As much as I love everyone I've met here, I also love talking to everyone back home. I think it's important to not forget about your friends from back home once you go to uni, especially if you're studying abroad like me, you should make extra effort to keep in touch with everyone.

Taking to people back home makes me feel so much more at ease and it's nice to tell everyone how uni is going. If anyone can't catch me because of the insane time difference, waking up to messages is also a lovely thing to look forward to.

By the end of the evening (or late late night) I'm tired out and ready for bed! This routine kept me sane during exam season and even now that our exams are over, it's nice to do a few times a week because self care should be a habitual thing, not something you go to when things aren't going so great.

If there are any types of blog posts you'd like to see, definitely leave them in the comments below and I'll be sure to make if happen! Now that it's the summer break I've got time to spend on my blog, which is something I've looked forward to for a long long time.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I'll see you all in the next one!

How I Practise Mindfulness

Mindfulness is something I have been talking about on this blog for a long while and I figured it was finally time to tell you all how exactly I practise mindfulness! Since starting my blog, my definition of mindfulness has certainly evolved and changed. I started off not knowing a whole lot to having a much better understanding of what mindfulness actually is and how it helps not just day-to-day but long-term too!

5 Signs You Need A Social Media Detox

It seems that moaning about social media is all the rage these days, and rightfully so. Social media can really bring out the ugly side in some people, and no one is immune to it. We all have times where we let our phones take over and it can sometimes take other people pointing it out for us to put our devices down and come back into the real world.

How To Relax & Unwind After A Long Day

There's nothing quite like getting home after being out all day, kicking your shoes off, crashing on the sofa and breathing in a big sigh. There are times where your regular night time routine just doesn't cut it and you need a bit more relaxation to be involved.

That's when I like to include one or more of these things so I can feel a bit more like a functioning human being. 

40 Random Acts of Kindness

Showing kindness to friends and family, a stranger, or even yourself is a wonderful thing. By doing something out of the goodness of your heart without expecting something in return, you can help turn someone's day around! 

The phrase "It's better to give than to receive" is one that I wholeheartedly believe, and not just for Christmas presents either! By giving, you not only feel good about yourself, but like I said above, you help make someone's day a bit better too. 

Acts of kindness don't need to be big or elaborate, but you can guarantee that whoever is on the receiving end of your kindness will surely remember what you did for them. Help make someone's day a bit brighter by doing one of these things in the list!

Wellness Habits To Adopt This Spring

Spring is now officially in the air! After all the snow we had I am so glad to see some flowers growing and the sky looking brighter! The snow seriously freaked everyone out over here - think supermarket shelves completely cleared and the snow being nicknamed the 'Beast' by weather channels. 

After all of that snow and wind, I'm glad that spring has finally made its' long awaited debut! Because I love this season and building habits, this post is going to be about some wellness habits you can adopt for spring.

Healthy and Productive Morning Habits To Start Your Day

Over the past few months, I have been trying to get myself into a morning routine. It's been difficult to say the least; I used to wake up at 11am or even 12pm and go to sleep at 1 in the morning! It was not good and I was determined to change my ways. It's March now, and I'm so glad to be able to say that my routine has finally come together!

5 Habits That Have Changed My Life

Hi everyone! Today's post is going to be about the habits that I have adopted that have literally changed my life. I've been inspired to do this post after watching some YouTube videos on the topic. I got to thinking about the habits that have influenced the way I live my life currently, and how they have benefited my life positively.

How To Stop Feeling Like You're Running Out Of Time

Time anxiety is a very real thing. The feeling that you don't have enough time to do the things you want to can be so overwhelming that you don't even get to finish the things you wanted to because you're too busy worrying if you have enough time to get them done! (What a mouthful!). It's something that everyone goes through and it really sucks!

Turning Your FOMO Into JOMO

How amazing is it that with the rise of social media, instead of us feeling like we're more connected to our friends and loved ones, we instead feel more disconnected and apart? I find it strange that with apps like Snapchat and Instagram, we can log on and begin experiencing loneliness when those apps are designed to make us feel the opposite.

5 Ways You Can Become a Better Friend

Hello all! Today's post is all about how you can improve your friendships and become a better friend. While recognising when someone is being a toxic friend to you rightfully remains valid, it's also important to take a look at yourself and ask if you're being a good friend too!

Finding Joy In The Small Things

The new year period has had me thinking a lot about how I can try to be more joyful in 2018. My 2017 was a huge rollercoaster of emotions and I definitely want to make sure my 2018 is filled with more highs than lows. Since one of my goals for this year is to be more present, I figured that cultivating joy (specifically in the small things) would be one step towards this.

10 Lists To Make When You're In A Funk

Lists, lists, and more lists! I love them! I write a list for literally everything, and if you're anything like me, you'll find that they just organise your thoughts better and keep you in check. Sometimes, we have "one of those days" where we don't feel like doing anything productive and we just decide to remain in that state. However, I have 10 lists here that are gonna help you out when you feel stuck or in a rut and need some positive motivation to get you going.

12 Positive Affirmations for 2018

Hello everyone! Today, I am going to be sharing 12 positive affirmations that you can use at any point during the year in order to give you a boost of positivity or inspiration. I have wanted to start using affirmations for the longest time, and now with the new year, I'm gonna start saying these to myself daily so I can work on inviting more positivity into my life. 

Quotes To 100% Live By

There are a lot of inspirational people that I look up to. They all follow different paths and careers, but each person has a story to tell that really speaks to me. I try to always remember their quotes and apply them to my life so I can see some positive improvements.

Self-Care Tips

Nowadays, we hear the words "self-care" thrown around a lot, but do we practice it? Do we even know what it means? I understand self-care to be the moment or moments in the day you give to yourself to make sure you're taken care of, mentally and physically. I don't think self-care should be something you do only when things aren't looking so good, but rather it should be a journey you take with yourself to achieve stress-free living.

Why Gratitude is Powerful & How You Can Practise It

I feel like, as humans, we have a natural tendency to always expect more. Or to want something that's bigger and better, and maybe more extravagant than what we already have. It's not a bad thing to want better for yourself. But when you let these thoughts consume you so much you begin to not live in the present moment, it could be a sign that you're not appreciating what's right in front of you.