I’m Breaking Up with Instagram. Here’s Why.

I know this was probably not the big huge news that you were expecting from me today.  Maybe you thought I would be announcing a new course, a podcast, or something else a little more thrilling.  Not – oh hey, I’m leaving Instagram. 

But stay with me for a couple of minutes, because I want to share why I’m stepping away from this app. 

A little backstory as to where this started…

I’ve always been a big fan of taking an Instagram pause here and there.  I find it incredibly life-giving to shut down the noise for a bit and allow myself to be fully present.  After all, isn’t this how we were created to live? (Back to this in a little bit). 

When I stepped away for the Christmas break, I had every intention of coming back right before the new year.  I was going to give my audience an encouraging New Year’s post.  You know, all the things you do on Instagram.  But I couldn’t get myself to log into my account.  Literally, I had no desire.  I started to wonder what was wrong with me! Was I losing my passion for Mom Made Simple?  Was I just tapped out?  What was going on?!

On our long drive home from Illinois, I started to wonder if it may be possible for me to grow Mom Made Simple Co. without Instagram.  To be honest, I don’t know at this point.  But when I look at my analytics, Instagram is not my number one traffic driver.  So, I decided to start giving this idea some thought and prayer.

Here’s some things I started to realize:

1. Instagram Has Become a Time Sucker

I spend an embarrassing amount of time creating content for Instagram. When you use Instagram for your business, there is A LOT of work that goes into it.  You have to…

• Create captivating content that will actually attract an audience
• Think about the opt in that you are trying to drive your audience to
• Take the perfect picture for your content
• Edit that picture so that it has a certain “vibe” for your feed
• Research the best hashtags for your picture

And then there are Instagram stories that are an entirely separate beast that can be incredibly time-consuming. To grow Instagram, it takes a lot of work. 

But the thing is, I am not a traditional influencer who runs my business on Instagram.  Sure, I promote my brand and such on Instagram, but I’m feeling this pull to spend less time thinking about what to say on Instagram and more time on content creation for all of you! 

2. I’m Craving More Peace

The heart and soul of Mom Made Simple is to help moms live a life of more peace and less stress. It’s what I want for all moms and what I strongly believe is 100% possible. And when there is something that is disturbing your peace, you need to address it. Because nothing is worth your peace. For me, Instagram has been taking my peace. It makes me feel like there is this pressure to constantly be “on.” If you are not posting every day, or documenting your life throughout the day in stories, you don’t keep up with the algorithm. And I really dislike this pressure.

Now that we are homeschooling, our days look very different. And I often feel this pressure to wrap school up by noon, so I can move on with work things, which often just means, showing my face on Instagram because that’s what we’re “supposed” to do.

3. I Want to be Fully Present for my Kids

The goal of all of these social platforms is to keep us engaged and coming back for more.  However, in doing this, it is taking us away from the living that is happening right in front of us. I want to stop doing this.  I want to stop reaching for my phone to capture the moment for Instagram stories, or telling my kids, “One second, I just need to do this story real quick.” We all know our kids grow up so fast, but they really do grow up so fast and I don’t want to miss precious moments with them, for fleeting moments on an app. We were not created to be glued to our phones.  It’s not normal and it’s not healthy.  And I don’t want our kids growing up thinking that it’s normal.  I’m really ready to break this mold and start living outside of these screens. 

4. I’m Practicing What I Preach

My passion is to help moms thrive in their life and motherhood by simplifying those areas that feel overwhelming.  For me, Instagram has become a source of overwhelm. I have been putting so much pressure on myself to show up, provide valuable content, do all the things, but it’s not serving me well. So it needs to change.

Everything in life has a solution. You simply need to pinpoint the problem so you can begin figuring out how to fix it.

My problem was my peace and time.  When I realized Instagram was taking both of these things from me, everything changed.  Since making the decision to leave Instagram, I have felt such a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.  I dove into house projects that have been on my list for months, I played with my kids without reaching for my phone, I stopped feeling like I was racing the clock every day. I felt so much joy and peace!!

So, what does this mean for Mom Made Simple Co?

Don’t worry, Mom Made Simple Co. is not going anywhere! In fact, there’s exciting things coming, because I’m freeing up my time to focus on what I really want to work on.  I have so many ideas for courses, blog posts, free resources to help you and these are the things I want to be spending my time on. 

Also, subtle plug…the Calm Your Chaos course WILL be launching again SOON and I am so excited to build this community of moms who go through this course.  (You can click below to get on the waitlist for the course).

While I won’t be actively posting on Instagram anymore, I will be keeping my account open.  At some point, I may feel inclined to jump back on, I really don’t know.  I’m just taking this a season at a time. 

Please know, my favorite thing about Instagram has been getting to know so many of you.  This is the part that makes me sad because I truly have met the most amazing moms.  I have been blessed by all of you so much. I can’t tell you how many helpful messages I have received about homeschooling which has been our biggest life event this year.  Truly.  You all have been the most amazing community ever!!

How to Stay Updated with Mom Made Simple Co.

Again – Mom Made Simple IS NOT going away, and I would love to stay connected with you, just in other ways now.  Here are the ways we can stay connected.

1.  Join the Mom Made Simple Co. email list:  I promise, cross my heart, I do not send 10 emails out a week.  My emails are really intentional, but it is the best way to get blog post notifications and hear from me regularly.  You can join the list here.
2. Follow me on Pinterest:  I will be getting way more active on Pinterest, so it’s a great place to follow along.  I will be uploading my blog posts, guides, all the things on my Pinterest account. You can follow Mom Made Simple Co. on Pinterest here.
3. Mom Made Simple Co. Website:  Yes, we do have a full website filled with amazing content!
4. Join the Mom Made Simple Co. Facebook Group:  I’m excited to start growing this community.  I am not quite sure what it is going to look like just yet, but it is a focus of mine. So go join it, so you’re in when we ramp things up.  You can join the group here.

I hope you really heard my heart in this post.  It is hard to step away from something that I have spent so many hours working to build.  But I have such a peace about it. 

If you find yourself in a similar situation as me, maybe lean into it.  Take a break for a bit and see how you feel.  Come back when you’re ready, or say goodbye if that feels right for awhile.  You get to choose what’s right for you, don’t forget that.