Where Did My Tiny Pockets of Time Go?

 

A Personal Reflection on Leaving Instagram

For the past few months, I have been feeling strangely restless.
Not anxious, not overwhelmed; just restless, as if my mind was constantly buzzing even when I wasn’t doing anything. I couldn’t understand why.

Until one day, a simple question came to me:

Where did my tiny pockets of time go?

Those small moments, between classes, during tea breaks, before sleeping, or while waiting for something ,used to be mine.
They were the minutes where I breathed, observed, reflected, or simply existed.
But slowly, without noticing, those moments disappeared.

And then I realised where they went.

They were swallowed by Instagram.

Not in big, dramatic chunks of time.
Just five minutes here, seven minutes there, another three minutes somewhere else.
Little by little, the tiny pockets of silence that once kept me grounded were replaced by endless scrolling, notifications, reels, and noise.

The Moment of Realisation

My restlessness wasn’t coming from my life.
It was coming from my screen.

I uninstalled Instagram first, just to see what would happen.
Within a day, something shifted inside me. My mind felt quieter, not fully calm, but less crowded.
I got curious about this feeling, so I took the next step:
I permanently deactivated my account.

And suddenly, something beautiful returned.

What I Got Back

Without Instagram, my tiny pockets of time came back to me.

I found myself reading more.
Not because I forced myself to, but because the urge to scroll simply wasn’t there.
I found myself writing again, ideas flowing, thoughts settling, sentences forming without interruption.
I had more time to think, to breathe, to reflect, to simply be present in my own life.

It wasn’t about discipline.
It was about removing the noise.

My mind finally had space.

A Healthier Way Back

I know I will come back to Instagram one day, not because I miss scrolling, but because I believe it can be a beautiful space for sharing words and ideas. But I will return only when my fingers stop searching for it unconsciously and my mind learns to fight boredom with creation instead of consumption. This is not a goodbye. It is a pause. And if I ever feel myself slipping again, I will disappear without guilt and return only when I am whole.

A Gentle Thought for Anyone Reading This

We often say, “I don’t have time.”
But maybe it’s not the big hours that are missing.
Maybe it’s the tiny pockets, the small, quiet moments that give us energy, clarity, and creativity.

Instagram didn’t take away my day.
It took away my minutes.
And those minutes mattered.

Leaving Instagram wasn’t a loss.
It was a return, a return to myself, my peace, and my creativity.

If you are feeling restless too, maybe ask yourself the same question:

Where did your tiny pockets of time go?

You might find your answer in the glow of a screen.