July Unfiltered
Why I decided to go on a creative retreat and some thoughts on what social media is doing to my (our?) brain.
Hi there, and happy Monday. The jet lag is fading, and I’m feeling ready to dive into a productive work week ahead. That feels good.
The best part of my weekend was getting caught in the rain on Friday night. This was not the plan, but it was absolutely wonderful!
One of my girlfriends and I were meeting up to go for a walk. Neither of us checked the weather ahead of time. We got caught in a wild thunderstorm and scrambled back to my house, soaking wet. While we waited for the storm to pass, we sat on my front porch, bundled up in towels. I cracked open a bottle of wine, and we had the best little catch-up. It was an accidentally perfect night.
As a reminder, my “unfiltered” series is just for paid subscribers. This week and next, I’ll have a bunch of special paid content about my trip. Today, I’m sharing why I went on a creative retreat. Mid-week, I’ll have a giant recap of everything we did with loads of photos, details on the workshops, where we stayed, the different villages we visited in Provence, and what I did in each one. And next week, I’ll have a big, juicy recap of lessons learned from the trip (the best part, in my opinion).
In this letter:
Our monthly paid subscriber giveaway
Why I went on a creative retreat
Broader thoughts on what social media is doing to my brain
Other retreats, + how I landed on the one I chose
But first: a treat:
Quick refresher: Every month, I choose one paid subscriber (US or Canada-based) and send them a box of goodies. This month’s box contains some of my favorite things: the Theragun mini, Sarah Creal’s amazing eye cream, The Outset’s plumping serum, Earlybird’s super fun THC gummies, Clarins lip gloss, and loads more.
Congratulations to Alexandra Stewart, this month’s winner. I hope you enjoy!!!
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I worry a lot about the health of my brain, specifically: what social media is doing to it. Everything is fast, fast, fast… it can feel addicting, it can be exhausting! I say it can because there is so much about social media that I genuinely love. At the same time, I worry that I am addicted to my phone, and sometimes I just feel so damn distracted: incapable of deep thought.
It scares me a bit that the most significant piece of my revenue pie (Instagram) is what’s zapping my creativity. It sometimes feels like the app has turned me into a little monkey that can’t stop scrolling and tapping. Not a good feeling. This summer, I said, “I’m slowing down,” and I meant it!
The great irony of what I do is that to be good at my job (in this case, influencing), I have to be able to be thoughtful, strive to stay ahead of the curve, and think on my feet... while also staying constantly connected. And that’s the problem: constant connectivity and thoughtfulness just don’t go together.
So, what to do about this? The great question: how do I do my job without sacrificing my ability to focus, think deeply, and be present in my offline life?