55 | 7 Lessons I Didn’t Expect from Hosting One Year of the Overcome Digital Distraction Podcast

One whole year. Fifty-five episodes. More lessons than I ever anticipated.

When I launched the Overcome Digital Distraction podcast a year ago, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I’d teach people about digital wellness, share strategies for reducing screen time, and help Christians create healthier habits and boundaries with their phones. Simple enough, right?

What I didn’t expect was how much this journey would teach me. How much I’d learn about faithfulness, creativity, and what it actually takes to build something meaningful over time.

If you’re in a season of starting something new, wondering if what you’re doing matters, or trying to figure out how to stay consistent when results feel invisible, these seven lessons might encourage you to keep going.

1. Just Start: You Don’t Need Everything Figured Out

I waited far too long to launch this podcast.

For months, I wrestled with questions that felt urgent at the time: Could I figure out the technology? Would anyone actually listen? Does the world really need another voice talking about digital wellness from a faith-based perspective?

A friend finally cut through my hesitation with one simple challenge: “Pick a date. Tell me when. Then start. I’m holding you accountable.”

That push changed everything. Once I set the date and hit publish on that first trailer episode, clarity started coming. Not before I started—after. Action revealed the path forward in ways overthinking never could.

The more I showed up and created content, the clearer my message became. I realized that digital wellness, habit change, and spiritual growth aren’t separate topics in my work. They’re completely intertwined. Every episode I create stands on these three pillars because that’s how I see the world as a Christian trying to navigate technology intentionally.

That clarity didn’t come from waiting. It came from doing.

2. Faithfulness Builds Momentum

I made myself one promise when I started: show up every week for at least a year.

Some weeks, recording felt easy. The content flowed, I felt energized, and I couldn’t wait to hit publish. Other weeks? I sat at my microphone wondering if anyone was even listening, questioning whether a single episode made any difference at all.

But I kept showing up. Not perfectly—there were weeks I had to re-record sections because I couldn’t stop coughing, episodes that didn’t feel polished, and moments I second-guessed every word. But I showed up consistently.

Over time, something shifted. Faithfulness created momentum I couldn’t have manufactured with motivation alone. Downloads grew. Reviews started coming in. Most importantly, real people began reaching out to share how they were changing their relationship with their phones.

This is exactly what I teach about habit change: small steps lead to big impact. Consistency beats perfection every single time. You don’t need to do it flawlessly. You just need to keep showing up.

3. Trusting God With Fruit You Cannot See

Recording a podcast is a strange exercise in faith.

I sit alone in my office, talking into a microphone, with no idea who’s listening on the other end. No faces to read. No real-time reactions to gauge. No immediate evidence that what I’m saying matters.

This year taught me that obedience doesn’t always come with visible proof. Just because I can’t see the fruit doesn’t mean it isn’t growing somewhere I’ll never witness.

So I pray before every episode. I ask God to use these words in ways I’ll never see, to reach people I’ll never meet, to create change I can’t measure. And then I trust Him with the outcome.

When you’re trying to overcome digital distraction in your own life, the same principle applies. You won’t always see immediate results. Some days you’ll wonder if putting your phone down during dinner actually makes a difference. But faithfulness over time produces transformation, even when you can’t see it happening.

4. Do It Imperfectly and Give Yourself Grace

I thought I’d have podcast guests by now. I imagined polished episodes with perfectly edited audio and flawless delivery.

Instead, I’ve published 55 episodes as a solo host, complete with occasional background noise, breaths I didn’t edit out, and moments where I stumbled over words. I have a full-time job, and this season required simplicity over perfection.

I’ve learned to give myself grace and keep moving forward anyway.

Perfection was never the goal. Progress was. And the same principle applies when you’re working to overcome digital distraction. You won’t get it perfect. There will be days you pick up your phone too much, fall back into old scrolling habits, or forget to turn on that Focus Mode you set up.

That’s okay. Grace and consistency will take you further than guilt and perfection ever will.

5. I Actually Love Technology

Here’s something I didn’t expect: I’ve genuinely loved the technical side of podcasting.

Learning audio platforms, figuring out microphone settings, building email workflows, designing graphics, creating website pages, it’s been intellectually challenging and deeply satisfying. Yes, it’s brain-twisting at times. But watching a small idea grow into something tangible feels incredible.

The irony isn’t lost on me. I spend significant time teaching people about digital wellness, yet technology has become one of my favorite creative outlets.

But here’s the thing I’ve always believed: phones aren’t the enemy. Technology isn’t inherently bad. These are powerful tools that connect us, inform us, and help us create meaningful work.

What I’m passionate about is helping you use technology intentionally. Creating boundaries that protect your attention. Understanding your limits. Using built-in tools like Focus Modes to guard what matters most.

This journey has only deepened that conviction. The daily tension we all face as Christians—protecting our hearts and minds in a world constantly demanding our attention—matters more than ever.

6. Creativity Has Been Life-Giving

My day job involves strategy, problem-solving, managing people, and handling endless details. It’s fulfilling work, but it doesn’t leave much room for creative expression.

This podcast changed that.

Taking a seed of an idea and watching it grow, weaving together personal stories and research, designing visual elements, writing content from scratch has been genuinely good for my soul. There’s something life-giving about creating something that didn’t exist before, about building rather than just maintaining.

If you’ve been feeling creatively stifled, this is your permission to start something. Not because it needs to be perfect or profitable, but because creating feeds a part of you that other work can’t reach.

7. I Couldn’t Do This Without Jesus

Underneath every lesson I’ve learned this year sits one foundational truth: I couldn’t do this without Jesus, and I do this with Him and for Him.

Before I record every single episode, I pray. I pray for the people who will listen, for hearts that need encouragement, for lives that need transformation. I ask God to use these words in ways I’ll never see.

My heart behind this work has always been to help you reduce screen time, reclaim focus, and create healthy digital habits, not as an end in themselves, but so you can stay centered on the things of the Kingdom rather than the constant pull of the world.

Jesus invites us to abide with Him, to stay rooted in His presence. That invitation is always there, but it becomes so much harder to hear when a screen lives in your pocket and your attention is perpetually divided.

This is why the work matters. This is why I keep showing up.

What’s Next: Bringing These Lessons to Life

This past year of learning has led me to create something new. The Made Simple Series is a collection of practical workshops designed to help you bring more clarity, peace, and intention to your digital life.

The Made Simple series includes three – 1 hour workshops:

• Focus Modes Made Simple
• Phone Declutter Made Simple
• Digital Detox Made Simple

Today I’m highlighting the Focus Modes Made Simple Workshop. Focus Modes are your phone’s hidden superpowers and most people either don’t know about them or have never taken the time to set them up properly.

In this one-hour workshop, you’ll learn how to customize your phone’s Focus Modes to protect your time and guard your attention, supporting your spiritual rhythms so you can stay fully present with what matters most in your everyday life.

The workshop includes a welcome video, step-by-step instructions to set up a focus mode, a personal planning workbook to help you determine which Focus Modes you actually need, 40 custom phone wallpapers, and PDF guides for both iPhone and Android users.

This workshop is going to change how you use your phone. But more importantly it’s going to change how present you are in your actual life. If this has piqued your interest, I hope you’ll check it out!

Learn more and get the workshop at julianneaugust.com/courses.

Keep Moving Forward

Year two of the Overcome Digital Distraction podcast is already underway, and I cannot wait to see what unfolds. More importantly, I can’t wait to hear about the changes you make in your digital life and your journey toward healthy habits.

Thank you for being part of this first year. For listening, reading, and showing up. I’m deeply grateful you’re here.

What about you? What’s one area where you need to overcome digital distraction in your life? What would change if you showed up consistently, trusting God with the outcome you cannot yet see?