I turned off my paywall, and I am prepared for Monday

Let’s talk about living in the present moment.

Dear Cafecito,

A few minutes ago, I decided to turn off my paywall for personal reasons. If I do decide to turn it on in the future, it will be because I started a club or support group, but I have no intention to charge for my writing. 

I recently decided to delete my TikTok accounts and deactivated my personal Instagram accounts to focus my energy elsewhere. I felt that endlessly scrolling for hours was draining and leaving me feeling disconnected from myself. One of the IG accounts I deactivated had been active since 2011. That’s a long time!

The Experience of Disconnection

Feeling disconnected from ourselves should be an immediate warning sign. Right? I discovered that learning how to be present in the moment helped me as I struggled to find the time to connect with myself. I started paying attention to my thoughts and my breathing, which led me to the decision to quit the social media platforms that were consuming so much of my time.

This is a representation of how disconnected I felt

Change Your Perspective

How can you be present in the moment? It’s actually very simple. To be present, simply take note of the following: your location, your current activity, and your breathing pattern. Just ask yourself the following questions:

1. Where am I?

2. What am I doing?

3. How is my breathing?

These three basic questions can quickly help you assess your present situation if you find yourself feeling a certain way, or if you just want to shift your focus to being present in the moment. What is happening in your surroundings when you become self-aware of how you feel? Perhaps you’re in a situation that is causing your anxiety and stress levels to increase. For instance, spending too much time on social media increased my anxiety and stress levels, which is why I decided to remove it from my daily activities. Regardless of your specific situation, it doesn't take much time to assess how you feel and shift your focus.

I took a picture of the sky a few weeks ago.

A Weekly Newsletter Will Be Sent on Mondays

I'm heading back to work tomorrow after a relaxing two-week vacation, and I am now considering publishing my weekly newsletters on Mondays – I think it's the perfect day! The Cafecito Diaries will feature stories on resilience, creativity, language learning, and self-reflection. I will also share some behind-the-scenes insights on creating cute items and stickers from my doodles. 🙂

These behind-the-scenes images include my latest designs, a glimpse of how I pack stickers, and one of my language learning resources.

Currently, I am working on a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction, so I will probably share a few insights on my dissertation progress amongst other things like what it’s like to work from home, and my experiences working as a high school ELA teacher for almost 10 years. I do feel I have so much to talk about and that is why I plan on not having a paywall for my writing content. 

Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Clari♡ from The Cafecito Diaries ☕️📝 | 💌 hello@claribotello.com

Disclaimer: This post is provided for educational and informational purposes only. This post does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services.