With technology taking over a huge chunk of our lives, there’s no surprise that ditching social media is one of the top resolutions for this year. Luckily, taking social media out of your reach is cheap and might even help you save some money in the long run. However, many people often replace one bad habit with another, which is when you can really run into some expenditures. These ten ideas will give you simple and cheap things to do that will help you channel some of the aspects of social media, so you won’t give in on your goals or throw money at your problem. With these helpful tips, you’ll be more than ready to cleanse yourself from your news feed in 2018.

1. Read a Book
One of the best things to do when working on ditching social media is to brush up on some good books. A book is a great way to take away some of the tendencies of social media. First of all, with social media you are always reading. Books can satisfy this urge while giving you more compelling words to read. You may even feel as if your thought process has improved after reading for a few days. You can read just about anything to take your mind off of your favorite websites and apps too. You may even find a few options that will teach you new things. Apart from that, reading keeps your hands busy, so you’re not as tempted to reach for the phone. You can take a book with you just about anywhere too. They even make pocket sized books to help you fit in a book whenever you have the time to spare.

2. Work on Your Photography Skills
A major part of social media is posting photos for all to see. However, a lot of the time we simply get lost in a sea of selfies. While you’re off social media, you might want to take time out to work on photography that you might cherish later on down the line. You can even learn how to get more out of the camera on your phone if you don’t have a professional camera. Since you won’t have an audience to impress, you may find yourself looking for subjects that will please you. This should help you take your mind off of social media and will give you a skillset you can feel proud of. You might even consider taking lessons on how to edit your photos to improve the quality all the more.

3. Pick Up Writing
With social media, we tend to be able to express our thoughts whenever we feel like it. So, when you take a break from this, there is a bit of a hole missing in your life. Writing is one way to fill this gap that will actually do you a lot more good than expressing yourself on social media. Writing allows the body to relax while clearing the head of things that might be bringing us down. Since there is no audience you can feel free to say whatever it is you need to say. You might also consider writing stories, keeping a journal of ideas or simply making lists of what you did on any given day. The method of writing will make life clearer and will make you wonder why you even expressed private thoughts on social media in the first place.

4. Hang out with Loved Ones
Sometimes, social media takes the place of the time we would spend with loved ones. In a matter of seconds, we can look at pictures of family, see what everyone is up to and even comment on something happening in their life. So, the need to get together doesn’t feel as important. After getting off social media, you will find that you long to have those connections again. Spending time with loved ones can help your health improve immensely too. Not to mention, it is great for the elderly in your family as quality time can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s as well as an early death. Family that live close will certainly help you get rid of your need for social media, but you might want to plan a well-deserved vacation to see those that live far away too.

5. Go Outside
The great outdoors can really curb the need to get on social media. When you’re outside enjoying life, you tend not to need to post about what is going on as you are enjoying the fun as it happens. This is a great way to totally cleanse your mind of the apps and websites you spend so much time on. So, play a cycling trip, go hiking or join a sports team. The activity will help you lead a healthier life while ensuring you won’t think about social media. If you still feel the need to get on your phone while you’re out, try to plan trips that have low data areas while you’re still trying to suppress the urge to share your life to everyone on your friend’s list.

6. Join a Club
One of the best qualities of social media is you can join just about any kind of club you want. So, by cleansing yourself from social media you may also be getting rid of the clubs you’ve become a part of. Luckily, most communities have a wide variety of clubs to choose from so you can develop relationships face to face while also learning more about your specific interests. You can find clubs you like in a wide assortment of areas. You might start with your community center, or ask around music, game, tech and other niche shops, depending on your interest. Joining a local club will help take care of the free time you spend on your phone, while giving you more joy in a healthier manner.

7. Consider a Power Out Period
If you can’t keep your paws off your phone, then you might go one step further and have a power out period. This will keep you off your phone entirely as you won’t have the internet to connect to. Best of all, it will mean you will have to participate in an activity that doesn’t involve electricity. This might be the perfect time to start a new work out or pick up a fun hobby. After cleansing entirely from technology, your body and mind might feel a lot less stressed. Social media and some forms of technology can really weigh heavy on the mind, which can cause your mental health to decrease. So, shutting down for a while may help you heal and grow. Apart from that, you may end up saving money on your power bill. In fact, some electrical companies will give financial incentive to those who are willing to shut down at a specific time during the week.

8. Explore News Sources
Unfortunately, social media has become one of the main ways that people get their news. This is a major problem because anyone can post anything on social media. It is a lot of work just trying to figure out what news source is reliable now. Without social media throwing information at you continuously, you might want to take the time to actually research and explore news options. You can check out everything from radio to newspapers. When you find something you like, stick with it. This will help you get in the habit of getting your news from elsewhere, even if you do go back to social media. You might even find that your view of the world has slightly changed, especially if you check out news sources from more than one country.

9. Embrace Board Games
Back in the day, people used to sit down and play games together in order to socialize and have some fun. Most games involve some form of skillset to ensure that games are challenging and fun. However, with the dawn of social media, people can play games whenever they want on their phone, many of which do not offer any benefits. Even games like cards can be solitary. So, you might want to dial your meter back a bit and plan on playing some of the games you did as a kid. For instance, you might try social games like Dungeons and Dragons if you are a fan of fantasy. This can be a family friendly game too that will have everyone spending time together. Apart from role playing games, there are many games like Monopoly, Life and even Candyland that can bring people together. You might consider planning your parties around these games. The goal is to have fun and socialize without having a screen in front of your face.

10. Keep Your Hands Busy
When getting over any addiction, many people complain that not having their hands busy is the main problem that they face. This can be a problem when ditching social media too since your hands are always busy scrolling, typing and clicking on posts. The best way to remedy this problem is to find a hobby that keeps your hands busy. For instance, learning to knit can be a huge help when kicking a habit like social media. You might also want to try activities like drawing or playing an instrument. The longer your hands are busy, the less likely you will be to pick up your phone and start typing away.

Getting rid of social media, or even just doing a cleanse, might sound much easier than it is. With these helpful tips, you should find this task to be a touch easier than it might be if you don’t have activities to engage in to keep you busy. These tips will also be easy on your budget, so you can get more out of following your resolution.