Springtime means dieting...from social media!

I am trying to think of all the ways in which my lack of self-control around social media has diminished my quality of life. Does every morning when I should be practicing my scales and long tones mindfully count? Because I often find myself at the end of the low register wondering how I got there. And I am definitely guilty of unnecessarily repeating those left-handed fingerings to click on a particularly adorable cat video.

Or how about all of the conversations I have missed before and after gigs because I'm busy posting that I am about to do / just did said gig? The annoying photos after a master class where we all have to ham in front of 5 or 6 people's phones on stage?

And then there are the work emails I really don't need to read immediately, but I do, and then spend an entire 4-hour hike (or all night in bed!) obsessing over the "fire" I'm going to have to put out when I get back to my phone.

I'm doing some spring cleaning right now, and I'm targeting my daily routines (though I also Mario Kondo'd the heck out of my sock drawer yesterday). So if you're like me (and in this way at least, I bet you are) and could stand to go on a social media diet in order to be more present in the world around you, may I share some tips I've dug up along the way?

Try some apps to help you develop self-control

• News Feed Eradicator: Hides your Facebook news feed and replace it with an inspiring quote (but your profile and pages are still fully accessible for work posts)
• Offtime: Keeps track of your social media usage and allows you to apply filters and schedule breaks
• Buffer: Schedule posts to avoid distraction (squirrel!) when promoting is necessary
• Self Control: Block the internet when you're working on your computer. 

Take control of your phone

• Alter your settings: shut off alerts for all social media apps, and remember that airplane mode can be used when you're not flying! (I particularly like it right after I've posted something juicy so I don't keep checking for responses all afternoon.)
• Consider deleting mobile apps: You can't function in Insta on your laptop, but you can definitely live without Facebook on your phone (and maybe save yourself a little privacy in the process). Same with Twitter, and who needs that much toxicity at their fingertips, anyway?

Change the way you scroll

• Search with purpose: Start asking yourself why you're getting on and what you're looking for.  If your answer is "???" or "boredom", set the phone aside!
• Take off weekends (or whatever time frame works for you): Have a weekly scheduled down time to get outside, remember the color of your partner's eyes, or cook an amazing meal.
• Give yourself a time limit: You can limit the amount of time you'll allow yourself to surf and the number of times a day you do it. I look at Instagram with my second cup of coffee after breakfast, for instance, and that's it.  I don't log in to Facebook until afternoon, and I use it as a practice break, etc. Build in little brainless treats for yourself and leave it at that. 
• Keep a calendar for future posts: If you're making posts for business/self-promotion/etc., you can plan them out and even write them offline. Stick them in your Google (or whatever you use) calendar and then all you have to do it get in, drop the post, and get out.  

Social media doesn't have to be the devil in your life, and it's a great (free) tool for reaching out and staying relevant. But we could probably all use an occasional reminder that "a little goes a long way".  Happy dieting!