14 Dec The Joy Of Missing Out

CHILD’s Jenna Templeton sees the benefits of a social detox and why ‘JOMO’ is the new mindfulness.

I’m sure you’ve all experienced the same thing time and time again – you finally get 10 minutes to yourself, but before you know it an hour or more has passed…. of you scrolling through the social media whirlpool. While it’s totally OK to look to Instagram and Facebook for a quick digital catch-up amongst friends, sometimes it can make us feel deflated when we think of our days accomplishments (or lack thereof) compared to others. So instead of spending all my small pockets of free-time on digital devices, I decided to get excited about the ‘joy of missing out’ (JOMO).

So what is JOMO?

It stands for the ‘Joy of Missing Out’ and looks at how being disconnected and not participating in everything is OK.  It teaches us to value our time, by focusing on the things that are more important.There are lots of people beginning to see the positive side of JOMO, thanks to all those amazing mindfulness practices you can do now. I stumbled upon the joys of missing out after giving myself a digital detox.

Personally, I don’t think my digital use was too over the top, but my daily routine use of checking all my social media apps was beginning to make me feel overwhelmed and drained.

Why was I committing so much time to doing something that started to feel like a chore and not bringing me joy?

So I decided to give myself a trial and limit the amount of times and hours spent on social media daily. A big part of my job (which I love) is working on all things digital, so unfortunately I couldn’t go completely cold turkey. But I could control my personal digital use for evenings and weekends. At first, I decided to check the daily feeds on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at night only – during TV ad breaks or before bed. But the information overload left me unable to get to sleep.

One night, sleep deprived, I tried to get to the bottom of why I felt I had to check and see everything. I think I felt that missing out would make me feel isolated from my online community. While I quite enjoy using Instagram for its creative factor of styling photographs and chatting to my creative community, sometimes I just crave back to basics and creating something by hand or doing an activity that does not include long periods of screen time. Digital devices were becoming a procrastination tool!

I missed the days of being a child (not a care in the world); no social media, no plans, no necessity to share every fun moment with the world, but instead, keep those fond memories a secret and ‘happy thought’ in my heart. I realised it was the childhood state of wandering and exploring that I missed the most. I missed experiencing free play and allowing those quite patches of time to re-group, dream big ideas and just be in the moment – stumbling on new opportunities.

I feel that the more that everything is handed to us, the less time we spend discovering.

So I’ve begun embracing my inner explorer again and finding out the benefits of a social media detox and the ‘joy of missing out’.

How did I embrace JOMO?

Less time on social media (especially on weekends). More of saying no to engagements and saying yes to enjoying hobbies and making time for new adventures – basically I’m just dedicating time to what I value most in life.

I’m not saying all digital use is bad. I still love checking my Instagram and fave blogs ever so often! But it’s about being mindful of how much time we spend daily on it. It helps if you keep all your fave blogs, website and apps handy so you get to choose the content you’re taking in (hope this blog makes the cut for you!).

In the past few months, I have been able to do all the below activities, with the time I would of previously spent on a digital device. Some can be accomplished in five, 10 or 30 mins. Hope you have fun exploring these activities and discover the ‘joy in the everyday’ – life’s simple pleasures.

18 Ways To Enjoy The Simple Things In Life

Here are a few things you can do while exploring JOMO.

1. Read a chapter of a new book you have been meaning to start.

2. Give a family member a big hug.

3. Get creative and have a crafternoon.

4. Enjoy a cup of tea and a quality tea dipping biscuit

5. Go for a walk around the neighbourhood, say hello to locals you pass in the streets and admire their gardens.

6. Go for a bike ride by yourself, or with the kids.

7. Listen to music you enjoyed in your teens.

8. Write a letter to a loved one or a friend – post it in the mail to them!

9. Jot down a 5 minute drawing that summarises your day.

10. Plant a flower or sow seeds.

11. Print out your smartphone photos. Put them in an album or make a scrapbook.

12. Have a midday or afternoon nap.

13. Have a picnic at your local park, at home in the backyard or indoors.

14. Pick flowers from the garden and make a flower arrangement.

15. Go on a roadtrip adventure to discover a town you have not visited before.

16. Bake something with a recipe, that you normally save for special occasions only.

17. Shop at your local markets and get to know your community.

18. Join a hobby club.

Words by Jenna Templeton // Photography Saz B