Do you ever get overwhelmed when it comes to checking your emails or logging into your social media accounts? Does going through all the different articles you’ve got to read leave you feeling irritated and uninspired? I’m gonna put my hand up and say YES. Lately, whenever I’ve logged onto Bloglovin’ or had a browse through Twitter, I’ve felt overwhelmed, tired and lost with where to even start. My feeds have been too crowded and it’s just given me a sore head.

Did you know that Britons spend more time using technology devices than they do sleeping? If you think you could count yourself in that category (I know I could sometimes) then this is the post for you. Today, I’m sharing some little tips for how you can completely detox your internet life over the quieter summer months.

How To Detox Your Internet Life Over Summer

Spend Less Time on It

We all need to take a step back sometimes from everything we’re involved in in life. Whether this means taking a break from your job by going on holiday or taking a step back from a project by doing something else. When we’re so involved with something, it makes it difficult for us to ever detach ourselves from it. But spending less time online, especially during the summer months is a great way to refresh yourself.

I’m not saying cut it out completely, but definitely cut down the amount you spend on it. So, if you find yourself spending a lot of time on it in the evenings, why not spend that time sat outside with a book or magazine? If lunch is spent browsing your social media and that’s it, why not go out for a walk instead? You don’t have to do it every day, but setting boundaries is a great place to start.

Don’t Fear the Unfollow Button

If you’re uninspired by what you’re seeing online, you know you have the power to change it, right? I know it can feel bad to unfollow people, but tastes can change – you won’t be doing yourself any favours when you’re not true to the people and blogs that you follow. Have the courage to say “this content is not for me”. A few months ago, I was ruthless. If I knew I hadn’t read a blog in a while I unfollowed them. It may sound harsh, but as you develop your own online presence, your preferences develop too. There’s nothing wrong with unfollowing, so don’t be afraid of it.

Get Organised

I’ll be honest – over the last six months, I’ve let my online life spiral out of control. My inboxes (personal and professional) have been fit to burst with unread messages, I’ve had over 200 unread Bloglovin’ posts at any given time and I can never keep up to date with everything on social media. I find that my time has been so wrapped up with what others are doing that it’s meant I’ve not spent time creating things for myself. Do you ever feel that way? The quiet months during summer are the perfect time to get organised. You can sort everything out. Make folders for your emails, lists for everyone on Twitter and cut down the amount of blogs you read. Take advantage of these features by streamlining your online life and making it easier to manage.

Update Your Site & Social Platforms

Every six months, I always do a big site and social media update. Here are a few things to consider if you’re planning to detox too:

Go through all your bios on social media – alter anything to make it more relatable to the present and update your photo if you have a more recent one
Do the same with the bio on your site
Go to your About page and update it to make it relevant – at one point I was telling people I was 24 when on my site it still said I was 23!

There are plenty of other ways you can update your site and social channels too, but I find these to be the most important. Keeping your information up to date makes you easier to find and your audience will thank you too.

You could also take this time to declutter your sidebar, or sort out the blog archive you’ve been planning for a while. Any project you’ve had in mind, summer is the time to get the ball rolling with it.

Write as Much as You Read

Instead of always consuming, why not start creating? Take yourself away from reading the latest blog posts, open up an empty document and start writing. Or even get a piece of paper and a pen and write down some notes for your posts for the upcoming month. I’ve been guilty of reading too much lately and that’s going to change. If you’ve got half an hour to read something, then you’ve got half an hour to write something, haven’t you? Writing as much as you read will not only help you create more, it will keep your voice sounding strong. It’s easy to get lost amongst the noise, but if you’re showing up, then you’re being seen.

For bloggers, it’s easy to feel like you always have to be online. But you shouldn’t feel that way. You’re entitled to take a step back. Next time you feel like having an online detox, jot down these tips for yourself so they can guide you through. Life online doesn’t have to be as hectic as you think, especially if you don’t want it to be.

Happy detoxing!

Do you feel overwhelmed by your online life? Are you planning a detox this summer?