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Everyone wants to become a content creator and ‘get paid to exist’ but no one talks about the cost of living online. I’m guilty of romanticising the idea of turning your life into content: waking up whenever you want, choosing your hours, being your own boss. But here’s the part people don’t acknowledge, the creator lifestyle is just an exaggerated version of what the average person is already living.

Creators, although they have more autonomy, are still living in the same attention economy as everyone else - constantly switched on, comparing yourself to other creators who seemingly have it all figured out.

I’ve been getting in my head lately, thinking my content is awful, dreading checking my notifications even though they’re 99% positive. And let’s be clear, this isn’t me getting out my tiny violin or wanting sympathy for ‘having it so good’ haha. It’s purely combatting the often idealistic view of content creators we see, as someone that’s now been full-time for a few months. It’s not me discouraging anyone from pursuing it, as it’s been the best decision of my life. However, there are some drawbacks that aren’t discussed nearly enough (probably out of fear of looking like you’re complaining).

The issue is content creators are also tethered to the very thing that keeps all of our attention enslaved, our phones.

The line between “using your phone” and “being used by it” gets thinner every year. And somewhere along the way, we all started stretching our attention so thin that we forgot what it feels like to have a day that belongs to us.

Which is exactly why I locked my phone in a box for 72 hours inside an off-the-grid cabin near Wales. It was with Unplugged and the irony is, I was invited as a gifted stay to make content, but I will say, it’s been a really eye opening experience. I’m talking wood burning stove, compostable toilet, no oven, just two gas stove hobs. Really going back to basics.

I speak about money online a lot, and my whole personal brand is built on ‘Frugal Chic’ - being intentional with your money and living a luxurious life on a budget. But I realised, I’ve been extremely careful with money, but not the most important asset - time.

Budgeting, saving, building wealth in your 20s - all of that matters. But here’s the harsh truth: most people aren’t broke because of their £3.50 coffee. They’re time poor.

Your attention is currency.

Where you spend it determines the life you build.

We often think the main issue is impulse spending, but it’s also impulse scrolling.

Constant checking, digital clutter, online noise that compound into a life that feels chaotic, unproductive, and permanently tired.

You think you “don’t have time” when really, your time is just being siphoned off in a thousand tiny, invisible ways.

At the cabin they have some very on-brand books here and one of them was Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. I’ve raved about Newport many times in my content for his famous book Deep Work about focus and the flow state. This book was the perfect companion to this digital detox.

Newport brings in Henry David Thoreau as the OG minimalist.

In 1845 Thoreau built his own cabin from scrap wood and lived there for two years to answer one question: what actually matters when you strip life down to the essentials? He calculated the true cost of living the way society told him to; the money, the labour, the time, and compared it to a simpler alternative. His argument wasn’t “live cheaply,” it was: don’t assume more is better. If everything has a price, especially your time, then blindly accumulating more work, more possessions, or more obligations leads to a cluttered life.

Thoreau, you would’ve loved Frugal Chic.

So you don’t have to go to a cabin in the woods to do a digital detox, you don’t even have to be extreme in any capacity. It could just look like decluttering digitally.

When I turned my phone on to write this article (because consistency aha), I had an influx of pointless notifications, social media apps telling me someone is going live, news apps trying to sell me their paid tier, uber telling me uber eats has 60% off delivery.

So here’s what I did immediately:

You get the picture.

In the longer term I am considering using social media less, even if it’s how I make a living. I get a lot of inspiration from scrolling and I’m able to stay up to date with what’s working, but I also think that’s an excuse I give myself. I don’t have to spend as much time on my phone even if I make content.

I already feel so much better for just ‘doing nothing’. A bit of scrabble, looking at the fire, cooking meals from scratch with no time pressure or alarms.

Sometimes the answer isn’t always to spend less money, it’s to restrict what you give your attention to. You can be on a moderate income but still feel ‘rich’ because you have time freedom, which you’ve granted yourself. This is at the heart of the Frugal Chic ethos, to live intentionally, cut out the noise and to live a luxurious life by being grateful.

As always, thanks for being here.

Mia xx

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