Personal: I gave up the Internet for 5 Days and This Is What Happened

I knew going to Cuba was going to be different because I wouldn’t have cell service or wifi.  I was really looking forward to it. If you followed my Goals of 2017 you will know I wanted so desperately to disconnect. I even asked my sister to steal my phone from me over Christmas just so I was forced to unplug. When you write a blog and run an online business you pretty much have to stay connected all of the time. Or so I thought… I am a solo entrepreneur, I wish I had an intern (hint) but right now it is just me so if I get sick or decide not to go into work then nothing gets done. 

I did a lot of planning ahead of time to send out emails and put up an auto-reply and a few blog posts were set in place. I didn’t plan on getting sick in Cuba on the return which put a hiccup in my plan to come back with a smooth transition.

When I touched down in Miami I was dreading turning on my phone. If it wasn’t for contacting my family to pick me up and it was also my Mom’s birthday I would have kept my phone off. 

Here is the thing. I didn’t miss the internet. AT ALL! Which is crazy coming from me who practically sleeps with her phone. There was the internet at the hotel after all and people were able to sign on for periods of time some more successful than the other. I didn’t have the urge to grab my phone and check my texts or instagram I just observed. Most of the people I was with who had phones were glued to them and barely made eye contact or communicated. I was looking at myself in the mirror. It put things into perspective.

What I did notice is without being on facebook or instagram I stopped comparing myself to people. I wasn’t looking at who recently had a baby, signed the latest book deal, or booked a big client. I was only focused on the present. Looking at everyone’s highlight reel everyday isn’t the best for your mental health! 

Most importantly how did I feel not connected? Like I was on vacation! So obviously I photographed Cuba, it was a photographers dream and I love what I do. But I wasn’t running to post onto instagram or facebook to let you know what I was doing that exact minute I just let it all soak in. I loved it! I was more relaxed and I slept so much better (minus the day when I had a few too many coffees) Would I unplug again? Absolutely! I have an idea on how to do it in Paris and since I leave next week that will probably the best place to start.

The best news? I had a goal for the blog when I started. I am SO new at this so I really don’t know what to expect. My goal for the year happened a little quicker than I anticipated. When I landed in Miami and checked stats for the blog I saw that we hit 100K page views!! (cue the tears and champagne) When I started this blog back in July of last year I thought I was crazy and all the work and late nights I have put into writing this and creating content but it has paid off! More importantly it so wonderful to know that I am writing something that people are genuinely interested in.

I will be writing a post on the blog anniversary in July about all the things I wish I knew when I started and what has worked and what hasn’t so stay tuned. As I sign off for the day I would love to challenge you to unplug for a bit. If it is just a meal with your friends, family or significant other or longer see what happens. I would love to know!

Thank you all so much for reading and your support to helping me reach 100K I can’t wait to see what happens next. If there is something you want to see on the blog or know about me/the blogging world please comment below or shoot me an email! 

xo

Rebecca