Our First Award

poetry


Friends, I'm so thrilled to share that Seasons has won its first award! 🎉🥳

That's right, yall. Seasons (I'll Be Seeing You): A collection of poems about heartbreak, healing, and redemption has been honored as the WINNER of the Best Urban Poetry Book Award through American Book Fest! You can read the press release here!

When I received the email informing me of the win, I was absolutely, positively floored. Honestly, I still am. Somehow my mind can't reconcile the little girl from North Little Rock, AR would become an award winner. But, my circle has been here reminding me that I am worthy, every step of the way. To celebrate, husbae threw me a small, COVID-safe party in our backyard. There was a photo shoot and cake and my heart is still so full. Thank you to each and every one of you for being with me on this journey. And it's only the beginning ♥

Unapologetically,
Pam

Focus Mode

self care
This summer was a wild ride. Don't get me wrong, spring was wild too. Honestly...let's just agree that all of 2020 has been...a lot. So finding new ways to self-care has been really vital to my wellbeing.

Recently, I was talking to my girl L'Oreal about using the DND function on my phone. I know I'm late to the party, but up until a few weeks ago, I'd never tried it before (judge not). So, I figured I would give it the old college try. Lo and behold, I enjoyed it. DND is great because I don't get notifications. But, I found that I needed a more intrusive intervention. I needed something to stop me from doom scrolling on social media. Like, do I have willpower? Yes. Am I using it to stop myself from scrolling in a pandemic?



In comes this beautiful feature called focus mode. When I clicked it on my phone, it gave me two options: work time or me time. With both, you still have access to basic things like your messages and call capabilities. But aside from that, you're limited on what you can use. In work time focus mode, you can only use your email and calendar. With me time, you can choose which apps you have access to. I was ecstatic!



When I put my phone in "me time" I only have access to my video apps (Netflix, YouTube, etc), music apps, Kindle app, journal app, and my crossword puzzle app (again, judge not). No checking emails when I'm off work. No calendar updates. And absolutely no social media sites.

To say that using focus mode has drastically improved my quality of life D.C. (during corona) would not be an exaggeration. And putting on DND and focus mode simultaneously? Life-changing. It has gifted me with much-needed rest. And it has taken my screen time way down. I spend fewer hours investing in other people's cyber lives which enables me to focus that energy into my own real life. Sounds simple, but it's been magical. And I got deep into that magic over the last two weeks. DND and focus mode turned into a social media hiatus and sporadic text responses (sorry friends). But the result has been a much more relaxed, happier Pam.

When was the last time you put your phone on DND or focus mode? How do you keep yourself from doom scrolling on social media? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you. And if you're holding onto your social media apps all day everyday like this...



...it might be time for focus mode, sis.

Unapologetically,
Pam
Copyright © 2024 Unapologetically Pam. All rights reserved. Powered by Blogger.