What I Learned from Taking a Social Media Break This Week
/Last weekend I had the honor of teaching a 3-day workshop for the first time at the Donna Downey Studios in North Carolina. It was a glorious occasion and I painted with some of the sweetest ladies I could have hoped for. Stepping away from the online side of things for the weekend and engaging with artists in person was a much-needed change of pace.
After reflecting on such an intense year, and recognizing that in a few short days I would be starting my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, I decided to reign it in and cancel all work-related Instagram and Facebook activity for a week. Well, 4 days to be exact but that's basically a business week over here.
Here's what I learned:
Managing two Instagram accounts, a Facebook group of 1,900+ artists, and keeping up with my account here is a full time job.
I need to hire more help and fast. Having support staff to help manage the different facets of my art business and consulting is crucial for me to stay in shape.
I was able to be way more productive in my business when I unplugged for a few days.
I was able to focus on self-care more easily. I caught up with a few healthcare visits, visited my grandma, and spent my 29th birthday at the mall like a normal person. (PS I treated myself to some Madewell jeans for the first time and I did not know a pair of jeans could make you so happy. They cost a pretty penny, but you will never want to put your toosh in another piece of denim again.)
I got out of the addictive loop of likes and comments and also couldn't run to them when I needed a distraction.
My time felt like my own for the first time in a long time.
It is slightly scary to think the online world has imploded and may build up your anxiety to check it even for a second
I have more self-control than I thought I did. And coming back to the "work" that is social media is hard.
Social media is still a vital part of my business and how I support myself, but it is not the only part.
Have you ever tAKEN a social media hiatus?
I intend to schedule more of these throughout the rest of this year. I never realized how much time and energy I was expending. It's nice just to be able to tell people, email me at info@amirarahim.com if you need anything and walk away.
#AMIRAPAINTS30DAYS
Today marks the first day of my self-inflicted 30 paintings in 30 days challenge π and so you can expect me to make up for the absence this week with a months worth of original paintings from my studio to flood your screens.
If you'd like to get on my collector list for the 30 paintings and get special updates on new originals from my studio this month, sign up below:
After this I'll probably want a pina colada off the coast of Jamaica. Like for real π΄π΄π΄