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Social media can be entertaining and fun but also time consuming and even addictive to some extend. You might not even realize that you are giving social media much more attention than it deserves. But this guide will help you identify what level of addiction you have with your social media accounts as well as how to reduce it.

Remember that you don’t have to cut your social media accounts completely. You just have to adjust your involvement and find a balance that will work for you and not against you. So, if you have been thinking about detoxing from social media, here is a useful guide to do that!

Social media detox

First of all, let’s define what a social media detox really is. You need to understand the process in order to be able to follow it completely.

Social media detox has to be a conscious decision to stay away from all your social media accounts for a limited period of time.

You can choose to not check your accounts for a week, a month or even a year.

Once your social media detox phase is over you can decide whether or not you should go back to some or all your social media accounts. Some people discover that they are much better and enjoy their lives more if they stay away from their social media accounts. But this is a subjective aspect that you will have to address when you finish your detox schedule.

Why you should consider a social media detox

Deciding if you need a social media detox is a personal decision. Most likely, if you came to this guide, you already know the answer to this question.

You might want to detox from social media because you feel your life is affected by it in a way you are not comfortable with.

If you spend too much time on your social media accounts, if you find yourself questioning your life decisions based on your social media activity, you might need a detox. Social media should remain a fun aspect of your life and not an activity that takes several hours a day.

How to detox from social media

Detoxing from social media might prove to be more challenging than you imagine. After all, you will have to stay away from all your accounts for a significant amount of days. If you were in a daily habit of checking your accounts, posting and interacting with other people, this will not come easy to you.

Here are the main things that will help you go through this detox phase in a constructive way.

Let people know about your social media detox plan

You should tell people about this process you are about to start. Especially those people who keep in touch with you often through your social media accounts.

By telling them you will also take your detox plan more seriously. If you fall back into your old habits of being active on social media, those people that know about your detox process might call you out on it. And falling back into the habit is extremely easy, especially during the first days.

Another reason you should tell people about your plans is courtesy. It is polite to let them know that you didn’t just disappear or started to ignore them all of a sudden. Even if you want to stop social media for a while, you might not want to stop all the relationships or connections you developed through your accounts.

Remove social media apps from your devices

The first and probably most important thing you need to do when you enter a social media detox phase is removing all your apps from your phone. You don’t have to delete your accounts as you might want to get back at them later. Remember that this detox phase is not permanent, or it doesn’t have to be. Simply remove the apps of all the social media accounts you have from your phone, laptop, tablet or any other device you might use to access them.

Once you do that you are halfway in the detox process. Everything might seem easier after that but you will also struggle with a feeling of emptiness at first. You will feel as if something is missing from your life. And ultimately, it is. But we shall address this side effect as it follows!

Rewire your mindset

If you have been using social media for a while, your mind might be wired to react to likes, notifications, new posts or comments and other similar aspects of this virtual world.

But since you are aware of this addiction you are one step further. Try to focus on rewiring your mind to find other sources of gratification than the ones social media had to offer you. Once you stop expecting likes, notifications and other virtual interactions, you will feel like a more free person.

Another aspect that will require you to rewire your mind is the fact that social media used to add unnecessary information to your brain. Most of this information was not even something you would be interested in. So, replace that kind of entertainment with a healthier one like books or movies of your choice. You will still have a good time but you will not be a victim of whatever your virtual friends are posting.

Rewiring your mind in these two aspects will offer you a sense of self-control and motivate you to continue your social media detox phase.

Fill your time with more productive activities

Since social media used to occupy most likely several hours of your day, chances are that you will have to fill that time with something else to do. You could use this time in a variety of productive ways.

Maybe you want to spend more time interacting with your real friends and relatives. Go outside and have some quality time with your friends and family, away from your computer, phone or other distractions. Human bonding moments are essential to our mental and emotional health.

Catching up on some pending work projects will also motivate you to stay away from social media. We might not realize how much time social media takes from our day until we stop giving it that time.

Create new routines

Your routines will have to change during this detox phase or you will not be able to complete it. If you are used to waking up and reach for your phone to check your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram while you spend another hour in bed, this is something you need to change. Creating a more refreshing morning routine might help you significantly.

You might have to change more than just your morning routine, assuming that you use social media throughout the day. If you check your accounts during your meals or when you are in the bus or subway you might want to replace that with a newspaper or a book. Eating without any distraction is the best option for your health so you should consider that for your greater benefit.

Once you created new routines you will be focused on implementing them and keeping them active. Routines are nothing unless you make them a constant part of your life. So if you managed to create new routines you should try your best to stick to them.

Advantages of social media detox

You will have more free time

One of the immediate benefits you will notice as you detox from your social media will be the amount of free time you have. Since you will not waste hours checking on your accounts you will be able to do something else. This free time alone will be a great benefit to add to your life. Whatever you were not able to do before due to the social media trap, you can do now!

Your mental health will get better

Too much time on social media contributes to high levels of anxiety. You might not notice it while you are in the heat of your social media time but you will surely notice less anxiety as soon as you stop it. Not only your anxiety and stress levels will get better but also your mood.

You will not feel overwhelmed by the amount of information you receive on social media. There will also be less pressure which will help you relax your mind as well. No more feeling the need to match the expectations of other people. No more comparing your social media posts with others. And you will not be trapped into comparing your life to other people’s lives either.

Healthier lifestyle

Overall, once you allow a few days to pass without social media, you will be more in control of the way you feel and think.

Your devices such as your computer or your phone will become useful in many other ways than to spend time on social media for hours. And you will enjoy better quality time with the ones that are important to you.

Conclusion

Social media should be a minimal part of your life, should you choose to invest any time in it at all. As soon as it takes over your life it might be time for you to go through a detox phase and allow yourself to break free from the harmful habit. So, give the tips in this guide a try and see how you feel once your detox phase is over. You might want to stay out of social media for good or go back to it under different rules that you self-impose for your own wellbeing.

Life has its challenges and eventually all of us will have to face them. These challenges might be overwhelming at times but the truth is that you can stay on top of them. If you find yourself struggling with your daily life, chances are that you should think of simplifying your life.

We put together the most useful tips to help you simplify your life with no hassle or frustrations!

Start your days with the best morning routine

The way you start your day will impact the rest of your day but ultimately, the overall aspect of your life. So, establishing a healthy morning routine can help you tremendously. If you start your day in a chaotic way, chances are that it will continue like that.

The type of morning routine you have is completely up to you. Each person is different but as long as you make it a good start for a productive day, you are on the right path. You can start by meditating for ten minutes every morning, have a healthy breakfast or go for a run. Anything works as long as you feel refreshed and energized after you do it!

Declutter your home

We tend to gather objects in our homes that will end up not serving us. This reduces the free space you have in your house and adds stress to your life. So, before you go any further with your plan of simplifying your life, decluttering should be taken care of.

Go around your house and get rid of those objects that you no longer use. You will find it refreshing and extremely comforting to free up your home. You might come across objects that don’t bring you joy anymore and there is no reason to keep them. Decluttering your place will have a great effect on your mind. There are many studies that show that a clean house helps you think better and have a more positive mindset.

Knock out extra hours on social media

I’m not saying you should delete all your social media accounts. But if you find yourself scrolling up and down for hours looking at thousands of posts, you might want to limit your social media time.

It will take discipline to spend only a few minutes here and there on Facebook, Instagram or any other social network you might be on. But you will thank yourself for that soon enough.

Set up your plans and goals

Life becomes a lot simpler when you know your goals and most important objectives. Establishing such goals makes it easier to find the right path to get to them. If you are used to planning things this will not be a problem for you. But if you are not, you might find it difficult at first. Don’t worry, all you have to do is get a calendar and write down your future plans. This way you will know exactly what you will do and when.

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Related: How To Create A 5 Year Plan

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Check your goals and plan regularly and adjust them according to the changes that might appear. If you make this a habit, you will find yourself more at peace and less anxious when it comes to your future plans.

Have a to-do list

Every day is a new adventure.

Some adventures will be more complex than others but you should stay on top of them all nevertheless. Having a to do list for each day will take a lot of stress of your mind. You can create a list with your priorities the evening before your day starts. You can also set up your to do list during your morning routine, maybe over your coffee.

Staying organized like that will help you avoid procrastination and get a lot more things done. You will know exactly what you have to do as you wake up and you can be more productive right away.

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Stay on top of your budget

The financial aspect of your life might complicate it a lot more than you expect. If your finances are all over the place you will not be able to keep track of your income and expenses. A good resolution to this chaos is to start budgeting. You don’t have to be an accountant to manage your finances. All you need to do is write down your income, your expenses and your savings.

Speaking of savings, it is wise to establish a percentage of your income that should go to your savings account each month. Try to stay away from your savings account unless you have an emergency. Doing so can not only simplify your life but also offer you peace of mind you need.

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Related: 10 Habits Of People Who Awlays Have Money

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Choose your relationships carefully

Stay away from toxic relationships that drain your energy and focus more on those that support your growth and life goals.

The people you choose to have around you should empower yourself and offer you the positive energy you need to go on with everything that you are doing. It doesn’t matter who these toxic people are that add unnecessary drama to your daily schedule. They could be friends, family or even your spouse. However, the most difficult part might be to see them for what they are in order to fix or end your connection to them. Evaluate your relationships with a critical eye and only allow certain individuals to have the privilege of being around you.

Apply the tips in this guide and you will notice positive changes happening in your daily life.

If you have a vision of who you want to be in the next five years or where you want to be, planning is the key to your success.

Important things don’t just happen in our life.

We should prepare for them an add our contribution in order to achieve the goals we have. There are aspects you need to consider in order to be where you want to be in the five-year time frame.

So, let’s look at the best way to create an efficient plan that you will find easy to follow!

Decide If You Need A Five Year Plan In The First Place

A long term plan that will cover the next five years of your life might not be for everyone. You should consider creating such a plan if you have long term goals you want to achieve.

Making your goals intentional will be the best gift you make to yourself.

Long term plans reduce procrastination and increase productivity along the way.

If this rings true to you, keep on reading to see how you can achieve your goals by creating the best five-year plan yet.

Steps Towards Your Five Year Plan Strategy:

1. Establish your goals

You need to set up your long term goals before you start doing anything else. Without such goals there will be no real motivation for creating a plan for the next five years of your life. Simply picture your future. What do you want it to be?

As you set up your goals try to incorporate the most important aspects of your life.

You will want to consider your future home, job, love life as well as health and other parts of your life that are important to you.

Writing these goals on paper will definitely support you in your progress for the next years.

2. Acknowledge and adjust your limited beliefs

Limiting beliefs are the lies we tell ourselves.

It’s called a belief because we believe in it. We truly believe that about ourselves. If it starts with “I can’t” or “I’ll never”. You, my friend, are dealing with a limiting belief here.

Examples of limiting beliefs:

“I’m an introvert, hosting a podcast wouldn’t work for me”

“I’m too old to start taking care of my body.”

And here’s what you need to work on.

3. Create a vision of your future

In order to get to be the best version of yourself in five years you should be aware of what that version is. How do you want to feel in five years? Who do you want to be in five years? Getting to know your future self will help you adjust your present self to be ready for that crucial meeting. Improving your life takes small and constant steps. But you need to identify your current situation correctly just as you will have to define the one you aspire to achieve.

4. Implement healthy routines

It will be extremely difficult to create and implement a five year plan with no good routines in place. Success is built on healthy and productive habits that you should pay attention to from the early days. Make sure you start your day with a healthy morning routine and continue it with other productive habits.

Consider forming habits especially for those parts of your life that you are struggling with. For instance, if you eat at irregular hours try to fix that. Same when it comes to your sleeping schedule, morning and evening routine as well as other aspects. Improving these areas of your life will support you in achieving your long term goals much easier and with less stress along the way.

5. Break down your goals into smaller objectives

Break each big goal you have into small objectives that you can follow every day of your life. If you do that you will know just what you have to do on a daily basis to get to where you need to be. Each small objective is important for your final success.

So, if your goals should be reached in five years, the objectives you have leading to them should be spread over months, weeks and days. After you established those objectives, you should do your best to follow them.

6. Stay determined

Motivation is everything. Without being determined and staying motivated, you will not be able to reach your five year vision. Staying determined, however, might not come naturally at all times. Five years is a long time frame and you will have plenty of ups and downs along the way.

Keep your eyes on the final prize in order to make it.

You might find motivational books, quotes and media programs useful as well.

And don’t underestimate the power of the people in your life.

Most often than not, those who are close to you and support you will be able to help you stay on the right track. So, turn to your trusted fellows when you feel lost or a bit off your game.

7. Put Your Plan Into Action

A plan is nothing without an action that puts it into motion. Once you have your plan on paper, start applying it. Start from the small steps and work your way up to bigger objectives. Remember that you will have times when you don’t feel like going through certain routines or habits. But that doesn’t mean you should quit. Go back to your chosen motivation source when that happens and stay back on track.

If you have off days don’t punish yourself too hard for them. But make sure that the unproductive habits don’t take over the positive ones that will lead you to where you want to be at.

It is very important to believe in yourself and your potential in the long run. Use the tips in this guide to get the plan you need and reach your success that will completely change your life for the better!

We all have our moments when life seems challenging and we find ourselves overwhelmed. But no matter how deep you are in a state of anxiety or even depression, the truth is that you can always get out of it. You have to train yourself to get on the positivity path again and get your life together. The good news is that you can do it! When you are in the slump it might seem like there is no way out of it. Here are the tips that will help you get right back on track.

Identify The Reason Why You Are In The Rut In The First Place

Once you realize that something is off with your life, it is important to identify what it is. Is it your personal life or maybe your career? What about your health and daily routines? Ask yourself these questions in order to identify the area o life that needs your attention. You might discover that there is just one aspect of your life or more that you need to address. But either way, you will not be able to move forward unless you identify what it is.

When you know what aspect of your life needs attention you can start focusing on what caused the slump in the first place. Maybe it was an event in your life or a series of events that brought you into a depressive or anxious mood. Or maybe it was a person or a decision you made. Think of your life during the past weeks, maybe even months and try to find the situation that got you stuck in the rut.

Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Being in the rut also means you are in the comfort zone. As comfortable as this might seem, you still have to break out of it for your own sake. Even if you might be bothered by your limitations concerning your life, you might still find it easy to keep them.

So, take a good look at your lifestyle and decide how you can break out of your comfort zone. For instance, you might have a job that requires you to do the same things every day. If that is the case you might want to decide whether or not you should stay in that arrangement. When you made up your mind about it, you are ready for the actual steps that will take you out of your comfort zone!

Small Changes Lead To Big Ones

Always start small. You might think that making big changes in your life will take you out of the rut faster. But this is not how it works. As a matter of fact, taking big steps towards your new life could easily overwhelm you and push you deeper into the depressive state.

Instead of doing that, try starting with smaller changes first.

One thing at a time

For instance, if you want to establish a new eating schedule, set up a goal to have your meals at the same time every day. You can always move on to controlling other parts of your life once you got this one covered. It is all about changing your routine and as challenging as this might sound, you can make it seem easy. Be patient with yourself and allow yourself all the time you need to get used to the new changes.

Decide Over What You Can Control

You might want to get out of an arrangement that doesn’t work for you but the problem is that not everything is under your control. No matter how good you plan things and how good you prepare for them, you always have to consider external factors.

Focus mostly on those things that you have power over such as your diet, your schedule, etc. When you are ready for a change and start taking the small steps, the rest will follow.

Implement a plan and apply it

It is very hard and at times even impossible to change your life or even small parts of it without creating a plan that you can follow.

Use a notebook or simply a piece of paper to note down your next steps. Try to focus on at least three steps in advance. This strategy should keep you on the right path. Every time you feel lost, all you have to do is look at your plan and see what is the next thing you can apply from it.

Always ask yourself:

“What is the next right thing to do”

Relying on your mind all the time could be stressful so having it all on paper in front of your eyes might be a lot easier. You can use your phone or your computer to write your plan down as well. Whatever works for you is a good idea as long as you follow your own objectives.

Keep Moving Forward

Once you went through the steps above you will notice that the rut seems to be way behind you! Now all you have to do is be diligent enough to maintain the changes you already made. Without proper discipline, you will not be able to maintain the lifestyle you worked to achieve. Hold yourself accountable for your decisions and make the most out of them in order to keep thriving.

Once you are out of the rut, you will feel free and confident in your own strength. Your shortcomings will feel a lot less important as you would minimize them in the shadow of your success!

Apply the steps in this guide and find your new, productive lifestyle!

Most of us have good times and bad times when it comes to our budget. But can you make sure that you always have money in your accounts? As a matter of fact, you can.

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Related: How To Stop Being Miserable & Be Happy

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The following 11 habits of people who never seem to run out of money will help you get started!

1. Set your goals

Getting rich or at least financially secure is not always a matter of luck contrary to what a lot of people may think. Rich people from all domains tend to plan their goals and follow them in a conscious manner. They set up a strategy and they apply it step by step to get to the financial status they aspire towards.

Pro Tip:

Break your big goal into monthly and weekly goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

This way you don’t get overwhelmed by your big goal. And by doing so, you will also find it easier to reach your goals.

2. Set your priorities

Your priorities are also essential. You will have to decide what is important for you and what type of activities will bring you closer to your financial goal. You might have more than one goal, for instance. In this case, you should determine what is more important.

Consequently, if you have several steps you need to take in order to fulfill your goal, you should prioritize them efficiently. This way chances are that you get lost in activities that are not super productive will be minimal.

3. Get your mind on the right track

Let yourself make mistakes. You’re human and it’s ok. You’ll have some setbacks on your way and try not to beat yourself up about it. Every small step brings you closer to your goal.

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Give yourself time to meditate and find the motivation to keep you on the right track. Also, keep an optimistic outlook on everything that you are doing. This is important as if you project good things, you will also attract those good things.

4. Never stop learning

We learn our entire lives and the biggest mistake you can make is to think that you know enough or you’ve already seen it all.

Network and communicate with people from different fields. This will not only broaden your horizon but will also show you that you can always achieve more and there’s always more to learn and explore.

5. Get a financial background

In order to be able to control your finances and make sure that they cover all your needs, you need to learn how finances work. You don’t have to become a financial expert but knowing how to invest your money as well as how to save them will definitely help you.

If You Need To Start your Financial education from the top, I recommend a Coursera course – Managing Your Money: MBA Insights for Undergraduates by University of California, Irvine

6. Evaluate your risks

Everything you do comes with benefits and risks. And in order to be successful in your financial journey, you will need to be aware of the risks as well as the benefits. Any type of investment can be considered a gamble. If you evaluate your risks, you will be prepared and you will know if you can handle them or not.

It is important to keep a rational mindset and don’t act on your emotions, especially when it comes to your finances.

7. Budget

It is hard and even impossible to get the financial success you want without a proper budgeting system. This is why you should create a budget book with your monthly or weekly expenses. Write down your income, expected income, and your potential expenses. It is also essential to review this budget book at least once a month.

8. Set up an emergency account

Having an emergency account is another useful habit that will determine your financial success. Start with putting aside 10% of your income each month. And let that be the emergency account that you can touch only in case of emergency. Ideally, your emergency account should have enough money for at least 6 months.

9. Stay away from credit cards

If you have a problem with overspending, you are probably using credit cards a lot. But this is a financial trap that many people fall in. If you use credit cards you will not actually get in contact with your money and you will not feel when you spend them. It is more like a psychology trap because your mind is tricked into not realizing how much you are spending.

Replace your credit cards with envelopes of cash. This way you will take money out of the envelope every time you need it and you will see right away how much you have left.

10. Have different bank accounts

Having different bank accounts is also part of the budgeting system you set in place. Use a bank account for your household needs, one for your vacation and one for your business investments. You might even need a bank account for savings. The number of bank accounts you use is up to you but the important aspect here is to not keep your money in one place.

Improving your financial situation is not an overnight task. Give it at least a couple of months and you’ll see the difference.