This is not your typical Black Friday type post. Full disclosure, I had every intention of getting up today and sharing a roundup of the best Black Friday sales flooding my inbox but I quickly found myself feeling over it all. I love a good sale as much as the next person but this year in particular, I’m feeling especially exhausted by it. That being said, I decided to refocus my attention from sharing sales to sharing ideas for how you can declutter your mind.
It felt like Black Friday sales began November 1st this year and it’s been a month-long barrage of “buy this”, “you need this” and “this is the only sale of the year!”. And now, I recognize I’m sounding a bit hypocritical since I’ve also taken part in sharing some sales from my favourite shops (and will continue to sparingly in the coming days). But to be honest, I struggle at times with that part of being a content creator. Because I don’t believe you need all of these things to be happy. But I also have discovered some pretty incredible brands that I love to share about and genuinely think you would love, if that thing is something you really want or need. Finding the balance between being a helpful resource and feeding into that narrative that we always need more is a line that I try to walk with intention.
But this morning, it became glaringly evident that every one of us was being slapped in the face with sales and roundups in our inboxes, on social, and in every form of advertising out there and I felt a strong sense that I did not need to add to that noise. Instead, I thought it might be helpful to chat about a few ways you can declutter your mind today (and any day) if it all starts to feel like too much. *raises hand*
So here are five practical ways to declutter your mind and deal with the overwhelm of social media noise on Black Friday (and every day).
1. Do a major email list unsubscribe.
I started my morning with this today. I unsubscribed from every email I wasn’t excited to see show up in my inbox this morning. Since every brand is sending out emails this weekend, it’s a great way to inventory which email lists you’ve somehow made it onto. There are a handful of brands I genuinely enjoyed browsing through this morning to see their sales and I kept myself on their lists. But majority were ones I’d somehow ended up on the email list of but am not overly interested in or intending to purchase from. Those sales can still be found if I’m in the mood to seek them out but I don’t need the regular input of their email marketing.
2. Unfollow any accounts that don’t leave you feeling inspired, educated, entertained or connected.
Something that I’m fiercely protective over is who I follow on Instagram. Because social media is a major part of my job, I spend quite a bit of time on there. I quickly had to figure out ways to make it feel like a healthy work environment for myself. I review who I’m following every few months and do a major unfollow spree at that time. Those I follow need to do one of four things: inspire, educate, entertain, or be a connection I want to maintain. I want to scroll through my feed when I take the time to do that and have it be a positive experience. If you’re finding your scrolls do not do this for you, there’s a good chance you need to unfollow some people.
A note on that as well, you are allowed to unfollow. I think sometimes there can be guilt around unfollowing but it’s important to protect your space, and your social media feed is valuable mental real estate. If I find myself getting irritated with someone I follow on a regular basis, it’s time to just unsubscribe. No one else is going to do that for you.
3. Put your phone away.
I’ve been trying to build in phone-less time on a more regular basis. Whether that’s going for a walk and leaving my phone at home, taking a bath and putting my phone out of reach or leaving my phone in a different room while I’m cooking. It’s been helpful to feel less tied to it and recognize that the world will be fine if I’m not constantly in the loop. My phone (and social media) should be a tool that supports me not the other way around.
4. Get outside.
After feeling really overwhelmed at the start of this morning, I popped my headphones in and went for a walk outside while listening to a guided meditation. I used the Insight Timer and listened to a meditation by Michele Kambolis (one of my favourites!). I instantly felt clearer, less irritable, more inspired and ready to face the day. A breath of fresh air in the morning is one of the most clarifying things so highly recommend this one.
5. Take inventory of what you’re actually looking to buy, make a list and then search for those sales.
I’m not knocking sale shopping. I actually plan to purchase a few things myself over the weekend to take advantage of the sales. But I’m making a big effort to not impulse buy. A sale doesn’t necessarily make something fit the budget and I think it’s important to keep that in mind as you browse. Make a list of gifts you’re looking for or things you want to purchase for yourself and then challenge yourself to shop solely from that list. When we start browsing with no clear sense of what we need, everything starts to look good.
If you found this post helpful and want more ideas for healthy habits to incorporate, I shared a whole list of ideas to deal with the winter blues which you can check out here. It has a bunch of practical habits and activities to build into your days.
