3 miles into a hike, overlooking the sunset with my dog - I realized the only way my life will truly change is if I focus on what matters to ME.

Back in May, I deleted Instagram off my phone. I allowed myself about 30 minutes once a week to check in as a way to monitor DMs from new clients and share the occasional thought, but otherwise, it stayed gone. I fully deleted IG off my phone and would have to redownload each time I wanted to access the app.

I took it off my phone with a plan to intentionally determine what success means to me. I wanted to see how my behaviors changed as I stopped chasing attention and validation from likes online.

What I Thought Would Happen When I Quit Instagram

My productivity regarding work.

I fully expected my productivity to skyrocket and to be able to sit for hours at a time and knock out my longstanding projects I’ve been putting off. Unfortunately, my attention span has been pretty battered, so it’s taking practice to fix and maintain my attention on one activity or task. Removing IG has helped, though, and I’ve found myself reaching for distraction less.

It’s taken some time (and practice!), but I can now focus for hours instead of minutes, even when I feel overwhelmed or chaotic.

How often I talked with friends and acquaintances.

Most of my social battery was filled by exchanging memes, reels, and funny stories via Instagram. Removing the app took away a huge portion of my ability to casually communicate with friends and family. While this did cause some feelings of loneliness initially, it also made communication more intentional and those conversations were richer than sharing a quick video.

I do miss the memes, reels, and silly posts - but I love carving out time for a lunch or coffee date with my friends! It keeps me intentional in maintaining important relationships.

The gym and my fitness habits.

Did you even workout if you don’t post about it? is something I’ve heard for years! After each workout, I typically snap a photo and post or send it to my friends. Without this, I fully expected my love of lifting to die off. I was curious about what had been maintaining my habit of weight lifting and thinking it was attention maintained. It turns out that it’s become sensory maintained - meaning I am intrinsically motivated to complete the behavior, simply because it feels good now.

I thought my gym routine would slip, instead I found myself enjoying it on a deeper level.

My ability to be present with my son and husband.

Similar to my hope that I would suddenly be able to sit and be productive for hours, I expected to immediately connect with my husband and son at all times. This wasn’t the case - I had to work on being present and mindful the same way I had to re-train my attention span.

While Instagram wasn’t on my phone, I still craved that escape into mindlessness. I wanted to scroll, so I opted for Reddit, Facebook, and Pinterest. My husband would gently remind me of my goal of connection and these apps (Reddit, Facebook, and Pinterest) are less reinforcing so I was able to easily put them down and refocus.

I used to spend hours each day playing with my tiny toddler students and I was horrified to discover I could barely attend to a game with my son for longer than 10 minutes!

Surprising Change: My camera roll became more reflective of me as a person.

Having Instagram on my phone meant having it in my mind - constantly. It drove the way I behaved and one of the biggest shifts I saw was in the way I took photos when I knew I wouldn’t be sharing them.

I took less photos of myself

Because I wasn’t posting - I didn’t feel the need to take as many photos of myself. This put less pressure on me to look or dress a certain way. Getting ready also became an easier ordeal. I even had friends comment “Not sure what’s going on, but you look so great lately! I can’t put my finger on it.”

Being off the app gave me an incredible amount of self-given confidence because I wasn’t receiving it from others.

I had a birthday party and realized AFTER the party, the only pictures I’d taken were of the food. I’d been more focused on enjoying my people than documenting.

I took more photos of my son’s sweet face

I don’t post my son online, so when I take photos of him, I avoid his face. Once I knew I wouldn’t be posting at all I realized I stopped trying to angle him so his face wasn’t showing. My camera roll is now full of his wide toothed, happy smile - not the back of his head.

Bugs, leaves, and random graffiti took over my storage space.

As a kid, I lived outside - no shoes, running wild, capturing animals and creating little homes for them out of my parents landscaping bricks. I’d forgotten that part of me. When I stopped focusing on gaining others’ attention, I naturally shifted back that weird, wild part of myself.

My Un-Instagrammable Camping Trip

My solo camping trip revolved largely around my own special interests instead of worrying about perfect backdrops and organized outfits.

What cemented that being off IG was working in reshaping my thoughts was a solo camping trip I went on recently. I packed up my dog, Troy, learned how to pitch a tent, and drove 4 hours to New River Gorge, West Virginia.

This park is known for breathtaking views overlooking the River, and if this had been last year, I know exactly what I would have done. I would have looked up the most photogenic hikes, the iconic overlooks, and the spots guaranteed to make people DM me, “Where is this?!”

Instead, I planned the trip around my own niche, weird interests. I hiked 10 miles, not to the sweeping Instagram-famous Gorge views, but to a swampy, abandoned cemetery a mile off the trail. The resting place for hundreds of coal miners’ families, killed by smallpox and coal mining disasters. The history hidden deep in the woods and rarely seen by tourists.

We saw old Coke ovens, where cast iron was made a hundred years ago, tucked off the trail and difficult to find. My legs were scraped, dirty and bloody, my feet hurt, and Troy was ready to collapse. We saw old, crumbling walls overtaken by moss. And it was perfect.

No perfect shot on this hike. No careful outfit planning. Just me and Troy on a trail that is so often skipped. It was one of the most satisfying days I’ve had in a long time.

Attention as Currency

I’ve realized my attention is one of my most valuable resources. Instagram would demand it constantly, rewarding me with quick, cheap hits of dopamine.

Now, I’m spending my attention in ways that actually sustain me. I’m having deep, intentional conversations that bring me closer to people I love, hobbies that absorb me for hours, and decisions that have nothing to do with how they’ll look to others.

Revisiting “Success”

Summer 2025 will forever be the summer I discovered what success feels like for me.

Most importantly, deleting IG off my phone led to a shift in what “Success” means to me, not others.

Today, success isn’t about “What will they think?” It’s about staying true to what brings me joy and fulfillment.

Did I spend my time on what matters most to me?
Did I stay connected to the people I love in real life?
Did I choose the swampy cemetery over the Instagram-worthy overlook, and love every minute of it?

That’s success.

If You’re Thinking About Deleting Instagram

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you stepped away from social media, here’s my take: try it. Even for a week. Notice not just how much time you get back, but how your choices shift.

Ask yourself: If no one else could see this, would I still want to do it?

Let me know how it goes.