The Necessity of Planned Breaks

Is it time for a social media Reset?

I used to be the girl who pushed herself to the absolute limit. As a People Pleaser I said yes to all the things (except for rest, margin or solitude, of course). As a Perfectionist, I strove to execute each task and responsibility with excellence perfectly.

Let me illustrate with math:

(College + work + church + marriage + parenting + friendships +home + fitness) - (rest + margin + solitude) x Perfectionism

= Complete and Total Meltdown.

After the inevitable crash, I’d berate myself for poor stress management, and wonder how I ended up all mangled and worn out.

Finally, out of sheer desperation, I’d slip into seclusion, where I’d sleep my way back to health and recovery, so that I could emerge renewed and ready to do it all again.

After repeating this cycle fairly regularly throughout my 20s and 30s, I decided I was sick of living that way.

Enter my 40s. A decade of wisdom and courage and insight (and also weird, wire-like hair and large leg veins and short-term memory loss). As an older, wiser (and veiny-er) woman, I realized that the "sprint and crash" approach wasn’t sustainable. While I still experienced the occasional meltdown, I began to understand how I got there and how to balance my chaos with quiet.

If I wanted to maintain balance in my life, I needed to implement planned breaks.

I cannot express to you how counter-intuitive this concept was for me at the time.

I’d look ahead to my day, my week, and my year, and proactively and deliberately schedule margin. Long before exhaustion had a chance to creep up on me, I’d pencil in silence, solitude, rest, and recovery.

I felt like I was playing hookie on life.

This meant learning to practice a weekly Sabbath, even when I had work to do.

It sometimes meant turning down an invitation, even if I was technically “free” that day.

And it meant taking regular breaks from the groundbreaking invention captivating the world in the 2010s: social media.

Photo by Alex Haney on Unsplash

Now that I’m in my 50s, planned breaks are a way of life. I’m about as likely to accidentally over-book myself as I am to forget to eat or sleep or use the restroom. It just rarely happens, is what I’m saying.

(And if it does, my body lets me know immediately that she’s not putting up with that crap any longer so I’d better slow myself down or she will land my butt on the couch.)

(Also, I can’t even talk about the current state of the vein situation. I’m thankful for health and functioning legs, and all. But the veins, you guys!!!! WHY?!?)

If you are still using social media, I’d love for you to consider taking a planned break during the Lenten season.

My friend and co-host of Writing Off Social, Mary K. Tiller and I have created The Reset: a guided social media fast for Lent

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Beginning Ash Wednesday (March 5) and continuing through Easter Monday (April 21), we’ll lead you through a thoughtful social media fast, offering tools, insights, and encouragement to help you break free from digital noise. It’s an opportunity to reclaim your time, reclaim your peace, and rediscover a deeper connection with what matters most.

What’s Included?

• Our ABIDE Framework + Frequently Asked Questions to help you prepare for your break

• Weekly themes like Dispelling the Myth and Reclaiming Your Time, designed to guide you through your reset.

• Daily emails with short stories, prayers, action steps, and reminders from God’s Word.

• Insights on how social media might be affecting your time, your work, and your mental health.

If you're ready to break free from the scroll and embrace a simpler, more fulfilling season of Lent, we’re here to walk with you. Will you join us in this powerful reset?

Not sure if it’s time to take a social media break? Take this short quiz and find out.

If you’re already off social media then YAY YOU! Otherwise, I hope to see you there.

Love,

Sandy

P.S. The Reset is an expanded version of my 7-Day Challenges, Make Social Media Small and Writing Off Social: The Challenge. So, if you’ve already participated in those, you’ll recognize the content. :)