You’re WhatsApp.

Ugh. This is embarrassing but I’ve realised I’m wasting a lot of time and energy on WhatsApp. I have been for years. But my phone tells me that this week I have spent 8 hours on it!! 🤯

Honestly not being able to hide whether you’re online has always felt like an invasion of my privacy. They know this feature creates urgency, and that’s why it’s there. To keep you hooked - either obliged to respond immediately or obsessing over someone else’s “online” status. 👀

I know that not everyone feels this, but for me personally, for my personality type, it creates a lot of unnecessary norepinephrine (a stress molecule 🧠) in my life.

I’ve tried everything. Turning off read receipts, moving the app around so my fingers don’t automatically find it when I open my phone, turning off all notifications for it, leaving my phone in another room. But ultimately, it continues to detract from my life.

I have so many things I want to do, to learn, to create. But I’m spending 8 hours a week on WhatsApp!! This is crazy. WTF Alice. I’m utterly embarrassed by it. But that’s why it’s important for me to share it. How much better could those 8 hours have been spent?! 🎹 📚 💭 ✍️

I don’t want to discover 10 new messages all at once when I’ve barely had time to check in with myself and how I want to spend the first hour of my evening. And yeah I’ll say it, I do also want LESS time in contact with other people and more time for myself 😱

So it’s simple. Delete WhatsApp 🙈

So, wish me luck and let’s see what happens. Will I find a new way to exhaust myself with trying to meet everyone’s needs but my own? There’s only one way to find out - this is an opportunity to invest more in myself than other people 🙃

I know I’m not the only one over complicating my life. So what is unessential in your life? What do you have too much of? And what would your life look like if you removed the extra?

#Essentialism #Simplify #SelfRespect