It's July and I did it! 30 whole days and nights of my social media detox complete! 

I know some of you thought that I wouldn't last, you thought I would do a week tops and then be sucked in by Snapchat/Instagram and make up some excuse but a betch didn't (toast to myself!) I'll admit at first it made me realise how much of a habit it was for me to scroll through my social media without even thinking..I would be blankly looking at my phone screen not knowing what to do with myself because I would usually be scrolling away but then I realised: 

I remembered that I had a whole purpose for my social media detox and gave myself goals which were:

1) To finish the drafts of my TV pilot and my 2 short film scripts. 

2) Spend quality time with my friends and family that involves deep and meaningful conversation, laughter and memories that don't need to be documented on social media. 

3) Discipline myself to spend my time doing fun and spontaneous things. 

4) Read a book.

5) Have a better sleeping pattern. 

6) Better myself spiritually, emotionally and mentally.

7) Spend the time smashing some of my #YearOfLavish goals

And I can happily say that I actually have achieved all of them except completely finishing my TV pilot but I've added to it and I will no doubt have it finished by next month! 

Being away from social media was the best decision that I have made so far in the #YearOfLavish

As silly as it sounds it made me conscious of how much time I have available because I'm not sitting around wasting time on my phone. I planned what I was going to do ahead of time and stuck to a schedule, as you all know from my previous blog "The Day I Went To The Gym & My Heart Bled" I've been keeping up with my training in the hell hole with Lucifer for a month now, I can't say I love gym because I still don't, fuck that place HOWEVER I have seen the benefits of going to the gym on a regular basis. But let me keep it real with you, my arm strength is a frigging myth, I am constantly sweating, I still can't do a press up the regular smegular way, whoever made up Burpees needs to be kicked in the throat and I still have a long way to go. In June, thanks to my improved sleeping pattern (I'm asleep by 11pm latest now) I would wake up and go gym in the morning and don't tell anybody...but I actually prefer working out in the morning! Who would have thought ay? Not me that for flipping sure! I've got around 3 more weeks to go with my program with Lucifer and it hasn't been easy, I've cussed him several times, he's ignored my complaints and "I can't do that" every single time and I've gone on the dreaded treadmill, rowing machine and stepping machine the trilogy of death even though Lucifer knows damn well I fucking hate them all. Speaking of hell, I signed up to Melody Kane's "No Kane No Gain" fitness rave at the Lost Elephants because I don't find the gym mentally stimulating and I prefer to work out to music and have some fun, and let me tell you I am now a fan! The workouts were high intensity cardio, working out to music that you would usually hear in a club, I loved that it had a communal feel, people of all shapes and sizes of different fitness levels were there and we all helped and supported each other! Melody is an absolute beaut (her booty is to DIE FOR) and I can't wait for the next one! The fitness rave lasted 11-1pm and even though it was only 2 hours long..a betch was working non stop, we were provided with free water, smoothies and fruit to help us when the laziness or fatigue kicked in! After the event was finished I was sweating from head to toe and did not smell very good...but I felt a total workout and I will definitely be going again! Check out the video:

(If you look closely you'll see my thickems self in grey)

I also got to spend quality time with myself. That might sound crazy but hear me out. I like to set myself goals, I work better that way when I have direction, but also sometimes I need time to reflect and look back on the things that I have done. That's not gonna happen when I'm busy looking at Snapchat and other people's lives. Recording my daily achievements in my "Year Of Yes" journal has been amazing but I've also had the time to read, catch up on TV dramas that I've always wanted to watch or I needed to research, I've read my bible and prayed more than before and I've also just had time to be spontaneous, meet my friends and have fun. I even managed to go Birmingham for the day to meet with the BBC Three team which was amazing! 

There were times when I thought "Oh this would be perfect for my Snapchat" but after a while it didn't even register in my head because I was too busy enjoying the moment. I didn't have time to take pictures of food or events because a betch had things to do and places to go! Even when my friends and family were doing it, I didn't feel like I was missing out or wanted to join in, if anything I was glad that I wasn't. 

When I did meet up with friends or saw people, they would all say the same thing

"Where are your snaps Delia? I miss your daily rants! I thought you weren't alive." 

It was nice to know that I was missed on social media, but I've realised moving forward that I don't have to be on there unless I want to or have something to say. My Renegades already KNOW how much it gets on my nipples when I see people on Snapchat doing the same thing which is basically NOTHING with music and a filter in the background and they don't say a mother trucking word. Miss me with that, I will unfollow you. But as I was not on social media it gave way for in-depth conversations with my friends and family, it was nice to see that my presence was missed (even though mostly people thought something was wrong with me and were concerned with me being so quiet) and to see people check up on me. 

The main thing I'm most proud of is the amount of writing that I was able to complete this month, I have written like a maniac, ideas have come to my head, I've had several meetings with important people regarding my scriptwriting (can't wait to reveal in due time to you guys) and I've caught up on my Shonda Rhimes Masterclass as well as taken a short scriptwriting course with the University of Anglia. It's important as a writer to set yourself tasks to "perfect" your craft and one thing I've always wanted to do was write a short. Short films I thought I would struggle with as I like to write essays, I mean look the length of my blogs *shrugs* but I've managed to write a short that I absolutely love as well as come up with 10 other ideas for me to complete by the end of the #YearOfLavish. I'm itching to actually film some of them during the summer so if your interested in a collaboration please email me! 

SO...

Because of all that I achieved in June, I've decided to extend my social media detox for another month! 

But let me explain first, I will not be doing a total social media detox this time but I will not be returning to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram UNLESS it's for business/promotional purposes. The only social media platform that I will be on in July will be my Snapchat and my WhatsApp.I deleted all the social media apps from my home page and I'm going to keep it that way, if it's out of sight...it's out of mind. I am extremely happy with how much I achieved in June and I really want to keep that momentum going and social media is a distraction that I can't afford to slip back into therefore I have to keep the regulation up! 

Follow me on Snapchat @ DeliaRene

I highly recommend to everyone if you haven't done so before to try a social media detox like I have, you will be surprised how much you can achieve and enjoy when not stuck to your nearest plug getting battery life!

Kisses & Bumflicks