DiscoverOff The Grid: Leaving Social Media
Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

Author: Softer Sounds

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Off The Grid is a podcast for artists, writers & creative business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their income. ✌️ Our host, Amelia Hruby PhD, shares stories, strategies & experiments for growing your business with radical generosity & energetic sovereignty. 🌐 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit at offthegrid.fun/toolkit
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Let’s be more transparent about how we are and aren’t using AI in our work!In this episode, I walk you through key considerations and a simple process for writing a thoughtful AI policy for your creative business.You’ll also hear how I crafted the Interweb AI policy, as well as why I was really inspired by Mel Mitchell-Jackson’s AI policy in that process.Press play, then click right here for more notes and resources!     COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
How are we feeling about AI these days, friends?Ambivalent? Over it? Hopefully curious? 🧐Today on the show, we’re kicking off a 3-week AI series, where we’ll explore the good, bad and ugly of LLMs.Our first guest is Mel Mitchell-Jackson — who returns to the show to share their practice of AI Sobriety.We get into why AI is a labor issue, how it’s impacting our creativity, and why we’re hopeful that locally-hosted small language models might save the day.We also talk about addiction, accessibility, and why I’m practicing GPT-sobriety this year. RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
If you’ve had a tough 2026 so far, this episode is for you.Today, I’m sharing a nuanced and practical chat with Akua Nyame-Mensah about how we can move from a reactive to a reflective mindset and shift our trajectory in the process.Tune in to hear Akua’s advice for changing the narrative of your business — without repressing or ignoring what’s happening in the world (or your body or your bank account).I also share some examples of how I reshaped my relationship to money through storytelling and ritual.You can hear the whole conversation in the Clubhouse right here. Thanks to Akua for joining me on the show!LINKS & RESOURCES:👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
This week, Cody Cook-Parrott returns to the show to share their new book, The Practice of Attention!We go deep into creative attention, social media addiction, and why we can’t stop checking our email. Tune in as we discuss:Why creative attention is different than distraction or focusHow tending to your attention helps you finish projectsExperimenting with tech breaks, the Wisephone, and the BrickWhich apps grab us: Pinterest vs YoutubeWays to cultivate hobbies, movement regimens & research practicesHow stepping back from social media empowers us to resist political violence  LINKS & RESOURCES:👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails 📔 If you like this episode, make sure you get a copy of Cody's book! (affiliate link)    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Let’s talk about how bad social media really is for our mental health and relationships. 🫠In this honest and vulnerable conversation, Natalie Lue of Baggage Reclaim helps us dig into:Growing up without the internetRealizing social media is a toxic, codependent relationshipHow your subconscious “goes shopping for flaws and failures” while you scrollThe problems with hate-followingHow to quit stalking ourselves, our friends, our exes, and total strangers onlineWhy we shop more when we’re active on Instagram or TikTokReclaiming your sense of self away from social mediaWhy it’s not your fault if you can’t cope with using the apps   This one goes out to anyone struggling with the harms of social media. Listen to the full episode on Baggage Reclaim here.  RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
I met Mel Mitchell-Jackson in the best way: through a newsletter ad, a ‘wanna chat?’ email, and many texts and virtual coffees since.Today, they’re here to talk about their path from art school to working at Apple HQ to leaving that behind for creative self-employment.Tune in to hear us explore:How to cultivate creative communityThe realities of what it takes to “make it” in art school & beyondChronic illness, Long COVID & find a pace you can sustain3 common traps of over-giving in online businessWays to center anti-capitalist values & praxis in your workThe pros & cons of building an audience through Youtube& much more!    LINKS & RESOURCES:👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid     COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Jenni Gritters recently hosted me for a Your Attention is Sacred book club, and I’m excited to share our conversation with you!Tune in as we discuss:Understanding the goals of the algorithmsAddiction as a lens to make sense of social mediaJenni’s decision to delete her Instagram accountThe parallels between fractured attention and financial scarcityReckoning with combative platformsHow to protect your well-being if you’re still on social media⭐️ & RSVP FOR MY BOOK READING IN SAN FRANCISCO ON MARCH 12TH! ⭐️    BOOKS MENTIONED (affiliate links):Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media by Amelia HrubyThe Sustainable Solopreneur by Jenni GrittersThe Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-ParrottDopamine Nation by Anna Lembke, MDStolen Focus by Johann HariThe Sirens’ Call by Chris HayesThe Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff LINKS & RESOURCES:👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Today I’m joined by Cyrée Jarelle Johnson for a deep and thoughtful conversation about spiritual practice, small business, and social media.Together we weave through:How Cyrée crafted his career as a diviner, poet, herbalist + card readerHealing burnout when living with chronic illness and neurodivergenceWhy Instagram has no elders — and all communities are incomplete without eldersDiscernment vs extreme skepticism — and how to navigate the internet’s slop eraHow to blend online & IRL business models — including different ways to run a shopThe realities of experiencing transphobic and hateful comments on social mediaHerbal and ecological support for tending to burnout ❤️‍🩹   LINKS & RESOURCES:👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
I’ve spent the past 5 years trying to navigate the internet without handing my data (& life) over to surveillance capitalism.In today’s episode, I’m sharing my current tech stack — the browsers, search engines, email providers, and other tools that I use to share my wrk online without Google, Facebook, or AI overlords.As you listen, please know this effort is a work in progress and always evolving! You can learn my entire process by taking my class OPT OUT: 5 Steps to Break Up with Big Tech Today. My current privacy-focused tech stackKagi search + Orion browserProton Mail (affiliate link) + Zoho MailSignalFind everything else mentioned here: offthegrid.fun/shownotes/privacy-focused-tech-stack  RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Welcome to our most personal episode yet! Today I’m joined by Morgan Evans from Business Casual to talk about the seemingly-simple but often-fraught topic of: feedback.We share a lot of personal experiences and business examples as we get into:What feedback really isWhy reviews and random emails aren’t feedbackHow to give & receive feedback that doesn’t feel like 💩Ways to create business systems that invite feedbackHow to resolve conflict with clients/customers/team membersWhy feedback is actually a social justice toolPositive feedback and how to integrate it RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
If you're stressed about using Spotify, Substack, Google, Instagram, or any other platforms... this episode is for you!Today I'm talking about how to choose platforms & tech tools without selling your soul — and why I'm still on Substack even though I kinda hate it. 🫠Tune in to hear me break down:Tools vs PlatformsQuestions to ask before you choose a new toolWhat to do about the bad politics of platformsWhy there's no purity on the internetFour strategies for rethinking your choicesTech stack harm reductionThe big decision I made about SubstackRESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Harry Doull grew up living in a small family hotel in the French countryside. Then he worked for the UN and Google, before leaving tech behind to co-found his candle company, Keap. This week, he’s on the podcast to share why he left tech for candlemaking, and how he’s grown Keap without social media or Amazon — while still garnering plenty of customers, partners, and awards, including landing on Wirecutter’s best candles list. This one’s for all the product-makers out there and anyone who believes business without social media can’t scale. They can! We’re proving it! Buy a candle & join us! ALSO — If you want to try a Keap candle, use the code OFFTHEGRID for 15% off your first purchase. My faves are: Timur Moon, Wood Cabin, Wild Figs & the brand new Grapefruit + Yuzu (affiliate links) And if you want to partner with Keap, check out their Mindful Creators program.  RESOURCES + LINKS🕯️If you want to try a Keap candle, my faves are: Timur Moon, Wood Cabin & the brand new Grapefruit + Yuzu (affiliate links)👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Today, I'm bringing together everything I know about growing an online business to explore why sometimes we feel like our businesses just won't work... and then other times they grow wayyyy beyond our capacity.Tune in to this Best Of episode to hear more about:Realizing you're on the Wrong Path & how to get off itThe Online Business Growth EscalatorWhat to do when your escalator is brokenHow to chart your own path for business growthQuestions to get clear on where you want to goRESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
This week, Nic Antoinette returns to share what really happens when you take a year off your business… and why degrowth is their plan for 2026.Join us for a 90-minute biz friend chat where we explore:The original idea for Nic’s Gap YearHow stepping back from work changes your identityWhat slowing down really requires of usWhen making less money can be a goal (not a failure)Finding enoughness without succumbing to underearningHow we’re right-sizing our work in 2026& more!  RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!📣 I wanna promote your work! Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid.    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
With the state of the world, it’s easy to believe that creative work is a waste of time. But I believe our businesses, art, and lives can be powerful forces for change. Not just by default, but through simple-yet-radical practices.To help us orient toward personal power and collective freedom, I shared a free class and compiled this list of 50 ways your creative work can be a force for liberation (and fight fascism in the process).Remember: Your work matters. Your art matters. And it can change the world — if you make it. Tune in to hear this list (or read it right here). Then make your own!    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Welcome to season nine of Off the Grid!We’re kicking this one off by talking about why I’m kinda closing my business…Or more accurately: how pruning one tree helps another grow. Tune in to hear all about:Abolishing ICE & Standing with MinnesotaWhat I did before I started Softer SoundsMy step-by-step transition from side hustle to small businessThe one strategy that brought in 6 months of $$$Why I started this podcast… and then almost quit making itThe 3 keys to Off the Grid’s successHow I’m turning this tiny indie show into my full-time job in 2026 LINKS & RESOURCES:💠 Free Class: How Our Businesses Create Change✊ Stand with Minnesota📲 5calls.org (use the app, it’s great!)💕 Join us in the Off the Grid Clubhouse💫 Get the free Leaving Social Media Toolkit📔 Buy my book: Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media🫂 Also big hugs to my biz friends Taylor Elyse Morrison & Nic Antoinette📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
Join me for a deep breath, an invitation to release expectations, and an update on what's happening in the Clubhouse before Off the Grid returns on January 28th. And if you want more Off the Grid right now...  --> Join the Clubhouse ASAP! Three exclusive episode are going live in the next week:🌈 3 ways I'm reclaiming my attention, creativity & workday🧐 WTF are the celebrity entrepreneurs doing? w/Amanda Laird💫 Your 2026 biz astro forecast w/Miana Melendez These episodes are EXCLUSIVELY for Clubhouse subscribers, who help me keep this podcast going by chipping in $5 to support the show. Join today! P.S. If you (like me) are feeling unsure of how to process and resist the atrocities in the US right now, I’ve been returning to this video on opposing fascism in daily life for guidance.
Today we're putting the cherry on top of your 2026 marketing toolkit with a long-form episode on trends!To do that, I'm joined by growth marketing strategist Amanda Laird to chat about five things we’re forecasting for the year ahead, including:New ways of building trust 👷Why we’re bringing big YOLO energy to our marketing ☝️How online business is going analog 📻Why Patreon might be the platform to watch 👀If done-for-you services are making a comeback 🤝And how courses might fare in 2026 🤔Tune in for a gently-guided look into the murky crystal ball of online biz. Then head to offthegrid.fun/2026 for this whole series!   RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📣 I wanna promote your work! Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid.    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
You don’t have to be an extrovert to host events. (I promise.)In today’s episode, I’m talking to licensed therapist and intuitive copywriter Arianna Smith about the event series she’s been hosting since 2023 and how in-person networking has changed her business for the better.If you’re thinking about how to be less online and more IRL in 2026, this episode is for you! Tune in to learn all about:Why Arianna decided to host in-person events & how she found her first venuesDifferent approaches to RSVPs & free vs paid eventsWhy relationships are the only timeless marketing “strategy”How to tend to yourself while hosting eventsDifferent types of events to host depending on your personalityWhat to do if nobody shows up   RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!🎶 Listen to Social Media by SurferBOY    COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
What are we doing with email this year? And how are we adapting to all the inbox changes?In this episode, Amelia shares her top 3 rules for email marketing and newsletters in 2026.This isn’t another overview of the basics. It’s part-hot-take and part-informed-opinion on things like:Why welcome sequences matterReasons to let people opt-out of sales cyclesThe best way to use a waitlistAn argument for breaking up with the weekly newsletter& more!   Tune in for a free email education, then listen to these episodes for more:📧 Email Marketing Made Easier, Better & More Fun — with Holly Wielkoszewski📮 All Things Email Marketing with Allea Grummert of Duett📥 Email Mistakes We Need to Stop Making — with Dawn Richardson from Flodesk   RESOURCES + LINKS👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community🎶 Listen to Social Media by SurferBOY😎 Want to learn my waitlist strategy? Join the Clubhouse for this exclusive episode: 🔬 Waitlist Experiments: What I’ve Learned from 8 Mini-Launches       COMING UP:✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care  COMMUNITY SPONSORS:🌟 Heal your relationship with social media & creativity. Get your copy of The Practice of Attention by Cody Cook-Parrot today!
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