I deleted Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for a week and here’s what happened…
Last Sunday, I decided enough was enough.
I had just finished my 5-month sabbatical and should have been well into my job search.
But I spent a week resting, working on other side hobbies, and doing NOTHING to progress with my job hunt.
Well, I did catch up with a recruiter but that was pretty impromptu but other than that… I was procrastinating on completing my portfolio.
But then I realised I needed money to survive (and not dip into my savings!) so I decided to kill off the apps that were eating up my time to make way for higher priority tasks.
I deleted Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Honestly I don’t even use Facebook but I just deleted it cause I sometimes open it up.
I kept WhatsApp and Messenger to keep in contact with my friends and family and that was all.
Oh, and I didn’t tell many people so whoever tried to message me through those avenues… sorry for not responding!
Okay, so what happened this past week? Was I more productive? Did I accomplish everything I wanted to?
The short answer… HELL YA! And MORE!
Here’s what I got done this week…
Finished my portfolio
I built my portfolio on Framer and published it within the week! Although it still needs major tweaking for the mobile and tablet breakpoints, it’s done to be viewed on desktop and that’s all that counts!! It’s legible which means I’m FINALLY ready to start applying for jobs! Of course, I’ll still continue to improve it later this week but I’m happy with the first MVP!
Wrote cringeworthy posts on LinkedIn
Without Instagram or TikTok to share my thoughts, I decided to engage with my LinkedIn community instead. I don’t know how the algorithm works but I feel like my posts get pushed below the actual thought leaders out there. Engagement was low and I think only one person consistently engaged with my posts. HAHAHA. Glad my posts are bringing you joy!
Planned my day (every day!)
Instead of reaching my phone to check the latest stories on Instagram, I created a schedule for my day and wrote down what I would like to accomplish. I put in details that I wouldn’t have thought of and gave myself buffer time to complete certain tasks which made it more manageable. I didn’t follow the schedule to a tee but finished most of the things I had wrote out.
Cured my jet lag
For the past 1.5 weeks, jet lag seemed to be my best friend and never left my side. I would wake up randomly at 2:30am and not be able to go back to sleep. I would be extremely tired after eating dinner and take a nap from 8-10pm. Oops! But now I’m sleeping around 11pm and waking up just before 7am (without an alarm) so life is GOOOOD! Not sure if it has anything to do with me getting rid of the apps, but more so my body getting used to this time zone, but I’ve been cured so I’ll take it as a win!
Listened to more podcasts
I rarely listen to podcasts but with a bit of free time, I decided to listen to a few design podcasts to motivate me in my job search.
Updated my CV and applied to 8 jobs
I thought my CV was all right but then I got some feedback to update it and then I began crafting my 1-page CV into a 2-pager! Then I loved it so much that I decided to apply for jobs (finally!!) with it. Before that, I wasn’t applying for jobs because I didn’t have a portfolio but once my portfolio and CV was ready… I was ready to tackle the world! WATCH OUT HUMANS, here I come!!
Aaaand there you have it!
One week of deleting those apps made me pretty productive… should I continue this trend or should I log in, deactivate the apps, and then move on with my life?
Only time will tell!
xoxo, knd.