Sundaze 272: Disconnecting to reconnect

Happy Sunday, my loves!

While I was away in Bucharest, Romania last week, I started to consider where I want these Sundaze posts to go now that I’ve got into a rhythm that I’m enjoying on Substack. Getting the balance right between paid and complimentary content is something I’d like to get right, and I sort of want to keep the ‘what I got up to’ updates in my monthly round-ups on Substack. So, I’ll be transitioning Sundaze to take on a more storytelling feel. The original format of this series felt so right when I began it back in 2016, but the content creation world has moved on plenty since then.

Instead, each fortnight, you’ll now receive the same overall content in a new format. This way, I can force myself to be even more creative again, and these posts will have focus and purpose again. You’ll find a themed letter – based on my life in the past fortnight – along with links I’ve loved and a round-up of the content you may have missed on my platforms.

Disconnecting to reconnect

As a belated birthday celebration, my sister and I spent the day together in a neighbouring town last week. It felt good to properly hang out, rummaging through antiques and vintage stores, sipping matcha lattes, stopping by another coffee shop to feast on delicious, filled focaccia sandwiches and chai lattes, and browsing bookshops, especially because it’s been a busy few weeks for us both and we hadn’t spent much quality time together recently. Honestly? The day felt like a true soul tonic and it reminded me that often the simple moments are the nicest ones.

Whenever I have these sorts of days – with my sister, with friends, with my boyfriend – I’m kindly reminded of how light and carefree it feels to simply be present and immerse myself in the world around me, not in the one inside my phone. Over lunch – seriously the focaccia was SO moreish! – we chatted about all sorts: our shared business, how our friends were doing, stories from my recent holiday to Bucharest, and social media. As content creators (my sister is THE @doodlelou.co!), we’d each noticed our friends slip into the addictive grip of social media. We exchanged anecdotes about having to repeat ourselves several times because they’d been too focused on scrolling, about feeling like a second priority beneath getting the ‘gram or securing a PR sample. In the end? It confirmed to me that I’d embark on my social media break almost immediately.

Last week, I did just that. I whipped a little Reel on Instagram, hit ‘Publish’ and then logged out. So far, the effect has been phenomenal. Almost immediately, I felt relief and lightness. The first few days had me going to tap the little icon multiple times a day, craving that dopamine hit of seeing notifications come in. Then? I suppose I took to the detox like a duck to water. My biggest takeaway from this detox so far is that I feel far more connected to the people around me, to my friends via WhatsApp, and to the natural world around me.

Disconnecting to reconnect has been like inhaling a breath of crisp, fresh air. I felt a palpable difference when meeting friends in London for dinner earlier in the week. Rather than blitzing through those waiting moments with a blaze through my Instagram news feed, I people-watched (a great thing to do in London, or any big city) and observed the street around me. The air was cool on my skin, there was litter atmospherically strewn by the kerb (Just London Things, I suppose) and I didn’t feel any jitters waiting for my friends to arrive. I just… waited. The same went for my day of annual leave from work: with no plans bar ‘watch The Eras Tour on Disney+’ on the schedule, I felt grounded and confident in my decisions to do whatever I pleased with zero output necessary, no need to capture every moment.

Even though avoiding social media in the year of 2024 feels alien, it’s been just what I’ve needed so far. Here’s to disconnecting to reconnect.

Links I’ve Loved

I’m really considering investing in a red-light therapy face mask. This one looks great!
These kale serving plates are so cute! Could I be any more vegan?!
Found this essay a lovely read, right when I was still feeling ~odd~ about turning 33.
I’m forever being asked about my favourite all-rounder gym leggings. This pair is my current fave.
But I’m really thinking about this adidas by Stella McCartney running top, made from at least 70% recycled materials, now that I’ve restarted Couch to 5K – yep, she’s running again!
My boyfriend has been educating me on barefoot science and now I’m tempted to invest in these.
Currently deep in my journalling era, so I enjoyed Megan’s post about upgrading your journalling practice.