I have had a really good summer.

I had a couple of short breaks, a week in Yorkshire and spent quite a few hours at work, getting ahead on a couple of projects and planning a week away in September.

It’s been bliss.

But since June 21st I have not been a regular, daily or hourly, visitor to Social media. I have taken a proper sabbatical: two months off blog writing, Insta, Facebook, X, Threads or any other app that links me to the wide, wide world. (I got back on X for a couple of weeks aorund the election, but I’m back off it now.)

And I feel much better for the break. It’s purely my subjective opinion, but I feel more relaxed, a lot less irritated by my daily round. I am not letting the world dictate my mood.

I get my news from different newspapers online, I watch a bulletin at least once a day, I listen to a couple of podcasts for political or philosophical outlooks. But not every day. Not all the time.

What did I miss from being offline? I missed some personal news from friends that I would otherwise have collected. I missed a couple of Church announcements, perhaps, and a couple of local events that I might have gone to. I missed some famous peoples’ takes on the news, perhaps a bit of punditry and a lot of memes that went global and slid away again.

What, however, do I regret missing? Not much.

Mostly I missed the happy posts in The Hygge Nook or keeping up with the people I call friends online (whether I’ve met them or not). These are the friends and relatives that comment, that catch up now and again, that post about ordinary life, love and living a small life. Because ultimately whatever happens on the world stage, it is our small lives that matter most.

I’m sliding slowly back into being online again now, but it won’t be everything everywhere and all at once. I don’t want to spend hours a day (approximately 143 minutes a day, according to some sources!) scrolling for good or bad. I have a blanket to finish, a book to read and a series of pastel drawings to start and complete. I also want to disconnect myself from the dopamine rush of getting likes, counting followers or attaching anything about my worth in any way to social media for good or bad.

I watched The Social Dilemma a few years ago, and it had an impact on me then. I’m rewatching it this weekend as I prepare to step back into my every day life. And I’ve made a few adjustments to my social accounts.

I have an X account, but it is very much only for happy memes and quotes. X is a great place for political arguments, but low on solutions. I’ve taken the app off my phone, and any time I feel like scrolling, I’m going to read instead.

I’m back on Facebook in a personal capacity, but I’ve culled a good few groups I was a member of. I’m trying to curate a feed that uplifts and enhances life, so I’ll be careful what I post and careful what I consume. I’m also trying to limit time spent online, so if anyone tries to contact me, don’t worry if it takes time before I reply. Facebook is my family and friends control centre, and home of The Hygge Nook, so possibly my most used site. It links with:

Instagram which is a very visual feed, but I was astounded that I was following over 2,500 accounts with absolutely no chance of seeing every post from any of them. I’ve cut it down to 1,500 accounts of people I know, either in real life or online, and especially to those I hope will interact. I don’t want to just scroll and thumb a like, I want time to comment and reply to comments. If we’re going to be social online, we have to build societies and communities.

Come September, I hope to be sharing almost daily about the good things in life: what I’m grateful for, what has given me pleasure, what has given me strength. I’m doing #septembersmallthings again, and also focusing on #Gratitude with a picture a day. Savouring life, even if it seems hard to do.

And so The Hygge Nook comes back to the front of my life again. It’s the group I started when I wanted to find fellow hygge lovers, people who wanted the safe, cosy, simple, mindful, every day daily life of ordinary people. It’s never going to change the world, but it might change a person’s mood. Like every group, it gives back what you put into it, so I’m hoping to put in a lot of love, time and sharing the good things in life. I worry sometimes that it’s just to big to maintain a village feel, but I hope the people in the Nook find their tribe, and create smaller groups around location or interest where they can really get to know their neighbours. We need to make sure we use social media as a tool, not allow it to become a tyrant.

That’s it. I’m not on snapchat, tiktok, threads or any other social. I’ve chosen the ones I prefer to be on. I’m not out to sell stuff, to be an influencer, to tell anyone else how to live their life. I’m out to be a responsible member of society, to create happy places and to build relationships between people who need actual friends more than ever. The world is still a wonderful place, and it is we, the people, that make it so.

Have you ever had a digital sabbatical? Do you have one regularly? Is it something you’re considering? I am considering setting a regular space free from online contact, perhaps a day a week or month, definitely a regular week throughout the year. And I think the summer sabbatical will be staying. Everyone needs space to be. Everyone.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

Is it too early to think ahead? My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier. Celebrating a Contagious Christmas was written during covid year, but has useful advice on celebrating when times are hard anyway and Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas is a short e-book on keeping Christmas simpler, easier and better for you, your waistline and your budget. It even includes 25+ suggestions for self-care activities over Christmas, as simple as sipping tea, keeping a list journal or lighting a candle. Bigger is not always better for Christmas.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer 2025.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Laurentiu Iordache on Unsplash. Summer brings poppies, and a glorious sun that eventually has to set.