I just deleted my Instagram and Twitter accounts, indefinitely.

Short reason? Comparison.

Long reason? Overconsumption as a creator.

Keep reading to learn more about my journey to finally clicking ‘deactivate,’ and why over-consuming content could be sneakily pushing you to do the same.

So, I deleted my two most used social media accounts.

Instagram shared my vision and twitter shared my story. Both were used interchangeably, daily, and for my many ‘bored’ moments where a screen filled the silence best.

As a creator, social media is one of the many homes where I retreat to for my brand. My first website, themakaylalynn.com, may have originated on WordPress, but social media brought my small corner of the internet to life.

There is so much to thank social media for but, in the same breath, there is so much to blame.

Heartbreak, comparison, discontentment, mental health issues, and so on…

It’s a known fact that scanning your phone for updates on someone else’s life can lead to discontentment on your own, but when a brand is involved? Prepare for destruction.

My brand was so extremely precious to me, I reassured myself constantly, when spending too much time online, that I was just ‘doing research’ or ‘seeing how other people brand themselves.’ (Two of my best excuses).

I never read about overconsumption until recently, on Twitter, and wasn’t prepared for its wrath until I was face-to-face and in dire need of an escape. 

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For a bit of context, I was following a thread by Mattie James and Jade Kendle about overconsumption and how it ruins creatives' hustles, per say. Both creators and social media influencers urged their following to be careful and steer clear of consuming more than they create.

I found this pretty profound, considering I NEVER thought or was warned about doing so, and realized that I was caught-in-the-act and on the fastest train downhill.

I was consuming at LEAST two times more than I was creating.

If I spent an hour writing a blog post, I would spend two hours saving and visiting Pins on Pinterest.

If I was taking flat lay images of my ‘current favorites’ for Instagram, I would be scouring IG, moments later, until my daylight ran out.

I realized that I was watching, reading, viewing, and tuning in WAY more than I was sharing, giving, writing, and recording. This, my friends, is by far the most dangerous thing a creator can begin to do.

How does one solve this issue?

Obviously, my course of action was to run from the problem itself. I deleted the social media accounts that were the main sources of my issue and vowed that I would complete every abandoned task on my to-do list.

Although I’m glad I made the choice to run, because cold-turkey is sometimes the best way to free yourself from horrible habits, I encourage anyone who’s reading this to consider HOW you compare yourself.

Do you wish you were better, or wish you did more?

If you wish you were better, after viewing or reading someone else’s content, then your best bet would be to take notes for 30 minutes and then delete your tab.

This method may sound weird but, since I’m still using my Pinterest account, it’s the best alternative to ‘running.’

Without writing down word-for-word titles and taking screenshots of someone else’s work (there’s a fine line between admiring and copying), I challenge you to 30 minutes of nonstop note-taking. Visit someone's website, whom you find yourself comparing your brand to, and write down their habits.

When do they share content, and where? How many (high-quality) images do they include in blog posts? Can you get a feel for the effort they put into their video editing? What resources have they listed on a resources page, if any?

After doing some actual 'research,' rather than stalking (like I used to do), close your tab and make it a point to not visit again until a new post of theirs is up that you're interested in reading. Admiring someone from afar is best if you're on the verge of wishing you were them or, possibly, copying...

It’s OKAY to take notes from the creators you admire. They’re teaching/sharing so you can learn. Share on X

If you wish you did more, get to planning. Log out of social media, turn off the TV, and become a hermit for however long it takes to create a solid and functional game plan.

Plan your way to success. Make sticky notes on a new blogging schedule and place them on your desk and bathroom mirror. Make it a point to remind yourself, in as many ways as possible, what you’re doing.

The best thing to do alongside planning is affirming yourself. WHY are you doing what you’re doing? Why do you continue to create? Why haven’t you given up yet or what’s keeping you around?

Overconsumption is a scary word that isn’t just directly related to food. We, as human beings, need to learn more about the importance of silence. The importance of a clear mind. The importance of a joy-filled experience.

If we tarnish our creativity by consuming and watching too much of someone else’s hustle, how can we flourish in our own? What time is there to create when we are too busy wishing we did and looked like someone else?

So many questions…I know. I hope you all enjoyed this post and got a spark of motivation to do better, especially if you’re a creator.
They say that we should work on our brands, fearlessly, and give our best effort at all times. Sometimes, giving our best effort means stopping, rather than going.

Sometimes giving our best effort, as creators, means stopping rather than going. Share on X

Slow down, my friend, and give yourself more credit. Cheers to creating more than we consume in 2018 and the years to come.