What I Learned From My 30-Day Digital Detox
Hey folx!
My digital detox is over! This week, I’m sharing what I learned over this past month. Here’s a brief recap:
I don’t need social media to maintain relationships or do business. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what value social media provides me.
It takes more than 30 days to change a habit. Thirty days is just the beginning. I felt apprehensive about returning to social media in particular, which lets me know there’s still work to be done. Also read this article from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, https://jamesclear.com/new-habit.
I truly understand boredom now. I was never really bored before because I used my phone or Netflix or YouTube to fill my downtime.
I still need to learn to sit with my emotions. This is a work in progress, but I learned to give myself more space to be still.
Netflix is the culprit. Social media was easy to walk away from, but video allows me to put my brain on auto-pilot from the highly intellectual tasks I perform for work. Not even a book allows my brain to completely relax.
It’s important to have a good book with you at all times. Don’t leave home for an extended period of time without a diversion from your phone. I learned my lesson.
I got some good sleep this past month. I believe the electromagnetic wavelengths coming from the laptop may be different from the cell phone. I spend several hours a day on my laptop, but my sleep did not suffer they way it does when I spend a lot of time on my phone.
I also share my new rules for re-incorporating these technologies back into my life.
Designate one day per week for social media. I tried this last Friday and I felt overwhelmed, so I may need to designate 30-60 minutes, 2-3 days throughout the week to handle my tasks.
Only watch streaming services on the weekends. This one will be challenging because of #5 above.
Contact people via phone as often as possible, text or email them where appropriate, and of course in-person contact is the best. I am limiting messaging through social media. It’s important to have more meaningful interactions with folx.
To hear more about what I learned, watch the video below. The detox may be over, but the challenge continues. As I stated at the beginning, I still haven’t determined what value social media fills, so I may need to consider stepping away from it more long-term.
Desk Tour | What's in my Workspace?
Inspired by a recent Instagram post of mine…
…I decided to film a full workspace tour. My desk is definitely not the perfect minimalist setup, but it’s been working for the past year or so. I will likely be making a few changes in 2020, but I wanted to capture the moment because I’ve created so many great things in this workspace this year. In addition to showing you my work area, I also share a few tips for maintaining your workspace and productivity. Enjoy!
Holiday Flower Tree | Minimalist Decor
Season’s Greetings Folx!
I decided to update my flower wall for the winter season. I created what i’m calling a “holiday flower tree”. It’s red, white, pink, and green with a cardinal tree topper. It’s much simpler than the full flower wall I had previously and I’m enjoying the simplicity in this time of rest of reflection. The next update to the wall will be in March. I filmed a short video with close ups of the tree that you can view below. Enjoy!
Check out my full flower wall.
Author Tag | YouTube
In the lead up to the release of Mindful Simplicity, I decided to do the Author Tag from YouTube, so you could learn more about me as a person, writer and book lover. I answered the following questions below:
Where’s your favorite place to write?
Coffee or Tea?
Favorite book of all time?
NaNoWriMo?
Genre you would write if you had no restrictions?
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Favorite Author?
What kind of music do you listen to when you write?
If you could live anywhere , where would it be?
What do you do when you have writer’s block?
To hear my answers, watch the video below!
What's In My Bag | Feature
My friend and BM teammate, Farai, asked me to participate in their “What’s In My Bag Wednesday” series. The series features diverse, minimalist or minimal-ish folx and I’m honored to be a part of the series. Read an excerpt from my interview below.
How long have you practiced minimalism or been interested in minimalism, and why?
December 2019 will mark 7 years since I began practicing minimalism. I started unknowingly because I was stuck and unmotivated in my life at the time and I felt like I needed to go back to the drawing board, so I started decluttering the physical stuff, which then led me to time, commitments, goals and beyond.
What are your favorite blogs, resources, books that you go to for inspiration?
Of course I follow you and Black Minimalists. I also enjoy Alyson Simply Grows, Christine of The Afrominimalist, Amanda of Mama of Intention, and Erin of Reading My Tea Leaves. For books, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo is a classic and Essentialisms by Greg McKeown is a must-read.
Read the full story on Farai’s blog, The Hillbilly African and you can watch my video below.
Early Fall Thrift Haul
Hey Folx!
I’m back again with another thrift haul, this time for fall. I was able to find pieces I liked very easily and gathered everything in only a couple of trips. I did pick up a few things- a couple of sweaters, a pair of black leggings, and a faux-shearling coat- after this video was filmed, which may make it into a late fall haul video. I’m still on the hunt for a part of boots and I would like a second winter coat that is knee-length or longer and has a hood. Check out my thrift finds for Fall 2019!
I have a surprise!
If you listened to my last few blogcasts, then you probably have an idea what the surprise is . . . I wrote a book! Over the summer, I worked with the Callisto team to create, Mindful Simplicity: Practical Strategies for Finding Harmony is Your Home, Work, and Life.
The book is slated for release on December 3rd, 2019 and I’m so excited to finally share it with you. I’ll be talking more about it over the next couple of months, but for now, please feel free to celebrate with me!
Writing a book has always been on my bucket list and I never imagined it would materialize in this way at this time, but I’m grateful nonetheless. It’s a testament to my personal walk on this journey, but also a gift of gratitude to y’all, the community that has been there with me from the beginning.
If you know me, then you know I’m pretty straightforward and practical and this is what Mindful Simplicity aims to be for you. It’s organized in an easy to follow format and is packed with actionable, yet mindful tips and strategies to simplify, declutter, and balance your life. You can pre-order your copy today!
And you know I made a video too!
Pondtown Community Day | Video
This video is a little snippet of the Pondtown Community Day held on September 14, 2019. Pondtown is a small, historically black town of a few thousand folx, located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in Queen Anne’s County. My maternal grandparents have family from here. The park where the event was held, is actually dedicated to my grandfather’s family, the Pinkneys.
To celebrate the day, there was a parade, car show, food, vendors, music, and sports competitions. This was the first year this event had been held in a few years, but we were glad to see it return and look forward to celebrating in future years.
This event inspired me to begin documenting more of the black experience and history on the Eastern Shore because not enough of it is shared publicly.
My Fav Self-Awareness Apps | Video
Hey Folx!
This week I’m sharing several of my favorite self-awareness/spirituality apps with you. The Pattern, Co-Star, Chakra Meditation Balancing, and Liberate are four apps that I use to check-in with myself and support my mental and emotional health. All of the apps are free to download, but the Chakra app does allow you to upgrade for a fee. If you’re interested in trying out any of these apps, the links are below. Peace.
The Pattern: https://thepattern.com/
Co-Star- https://www.costarastrology.com/
Chakra Meditation: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chakra-meditation-balancing-healing-meditation-music/id886156937
Liberate: https://liberatemeditation.com/
Goodbye Summer | Secret Garden Tour
On Labor Day weekend, I finally got to see the secret garden in Downtown Easton. The garden is managed by the Talbot County Historical society. It’s a beautiful gem off the beaten path and in the middle of the city. It was very peaceful and quiet until the mosquitoes started biting. The garden is open from dusk ‘til dawn everyday and is walled all the way around. I’ll definitely be visiting again. If you’re ever in the area, it’s worth a stroll. Enjoy the video and pics below!
