Yesterday I stared at my phone after hitting publish on a blog post. Felt something was off. Realized half the screen looked like an emoji explosion and my sentences had more side notes than actual meat.
How I Noticed The Problem
Opened last week’s food recipe post first. Every. Single. Paragraph. Had winky faces 😉 or thumbs-up 👍 after basic instructions. Found myself writing crap like “Add two eggs (free-range preferred! But store-bought works too!! 😊)”. Pure nonsense.
The Cold Turkey Experiment
Decided to rewrite that post completely. No warning labels, no digital smiles. Just plain steps:
- Grabbed original draft and printed it out
- Took red marker and slashed every 😂/!!!/(clarification)
- Rewrote each step whispering “Just the facts”
Instead of “Heat oil (carefully!! Fire hazard!! 🔥)”, now it read “Heat oil on medium”. Felt robotic at first. Like texting without stickers.
Real Life Test Drive
Posted the sterile version to my cooking group anonymously. Watched comments for two hours. Shock moment: 3 people asked where to buy ingredients. Normally they’d comment “LOL cute thermometer pic!”. Actual useful engagement.
What Got Better
- Reading time dropped – Less scrolling through parentheses hell
- Comments went practical – No more “cute emoji” replies
- My writing felt cleaner – Like tidying a messy drawer
Still caught myself typing 🙂 yesterday. Deleted it immediately. Feels like quitting sugar – weird at first, then you stop craving it.
Final Takeaway
Symbols are seasoning salt. Recipe fails if you dump the whole container in. Now I imagine a tiny editor on my shoulder slapping my hand when I reach for emojis. It’s working.
