If you’ve been following me for more than 9 months, you know I made the unusual decision to pull my business from both Instagram and Facebook at the beginning of this past year.
After announcing that I quit, I received more feedback from you all than I ever would have expected! Some of you applauded my decision, while others expressed their wish that I would have stayed (curious? You can read my announcement HERE).
I’ve now been running my business for more than 9 months without these things in my life and thought it was time to give you a lil’ update!
Whether you were a fan of my decision or felt decidedly disappointed by my choice, here’s where I’m at after living 9+ months without having my business on IG and FB!
I Feel More Peace in Running an Online Business
Are you the type of person who likes having a million things on your “to do” list?
Well…I’m not.
Don’t get me wrong. I like having checklists and I like accomplishing things in my day. But I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m always behind or that I’m just scraping by, hopping from one thing to the next.
Running a blog…and an Instagram page…and a Youtube channel…and a Facebook account…and Pinterest…and emailing my people was JUST TOO MUCH.
I felt like I didn’t have time to think and was constantly spinning my wheels to gain only a few inches in traction. There was a part of me that was becoming disillusioned with my online business.
It’s just not what I want it to be, with all this “online stuff” dominating my thoughts and time.”
But you know something? Since giving up my IG and FB accounts (I even temporarily gave up Youtube this summer), I feel more peace in running this blog.
Now I can actually accomplish the things on my list and have time to think afterwards. And I love it.
I Can More Openly Share the Imperfect with You
Until I left Instagram, I didn’t realize all the beautifully staged pictures were making me feel like my home, my kitchen, my pantry and my gardens weren’t good enough to share with you. There were moments when I felt like everyone (except me) had all the things they wanted.
Sometimes I even felt ashamed of my little cottage with it’s bare light bulbs, undecorated living room and the oddly stained concrete floor in the pantry (we didn’t seal it up soon enough).
Instead of seeing all the work we’ve done in the gardens, I’d only notice the temporary flopping garden fences and desperately wish for a split cedar fence.
This isn’t characteristic of me. Really. I’m usually a simple, contented soul. And my man and I have other goals that are more important than beautifying everything around us. Like paying off our mortgage.
I knew we had these goals. But seeing perfect and pretty things all the time…well. The comparison bug had so slowly crept in that I wasn’t aware of it, until I gave up Instagram.
It’s been such a relief to once again start enjoying and sharing with you the beautiful things in my imperfect world.
I’m Better at Focusing On My Own People
Until I stepped away from FB and IG, I had no idea that was I being so influenced by other bloggers and writers.
I’ve always thought my #1 goal was to lean into my audience and give them the help they needed. And some of the time, this was true.
But looking back, I realize I was often swayed by what bigger and more important bloggers were doing. Thanks to FB & IG, you can closely follow what other people are up to. And the result of doing this wasn’t good, either for you or for me!
Since leaving, I’ve started to feel a focus, direction and connection with my followers. Like it’s just us hanging out over a cup of tea in my quiet country kitchen. No distractions.
I’m Not Going Back
Here’s the deal, folks: I’m not going back! I know some of you miss the Instagram posts. Or wish I hadn’t left Facebook.
But this decision is paying off in more ways than I can count. I’m happier, healthier and more focused because I let things go!
And it’s going to stay that way in the foreseeable future.
So if you want to stay connected, there are 2 (maybe 3) ways to do that.
- Join me on email (I send out new emails every week)
- Keep popping into the blog where I post once a week (usually Thursday mornings)
- I’ve been taking a break from Youtube with this pregnancy and all, but I’ll probably be back with content 1x week in the near future (you can subscribe and follow along HERE).
I’m not going back to IG or FB any time soon. And that’s just where it’s at!
I'm Autumn. Join me in the simple cottage life and learn how to keep a traditional kitchen, garden and pantry!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s felt this way or made this choice! I love your weekly emails. They are useful and encouraging in my goals, and uplifting in spirit. Thanks for reminding me that nothing is “picture perfect” in real life, and that’s just great!
So glad they can be a positive thing in your life. Thanks for following along! 🙂
Funny how comparison increases so quietly and easily …I didn’t even realize why I was so discontent until I read this. Thank you so much for sharing this, Autumn. You challenged and encouraged me so much!
Glad some of the less ‘pretty’ parts of my life could be an encouragement. 🙂
Brava, Autumn.
Oh Autumn! You have no idea how much reading this has encouraged me today. I’m feeling tired and overwhelmed and your blog post today has been really uplifting for me. Thank you for being honest. I do applaud you for focusing on the things that matter and making a very difficult choice to leave behind the things that don’t matter (or, at very least, were distracting you from more important things.)
Thank you. You’ve inspired me to re-focus on the important things.
And here I thought this post wouldn’t really apply to anyone else! 🙂 Glad it could inspire you.