Have you ever counted the number of times you unlock your phone per day? Or have you ever felt the unusual pain in your thumb or wrist by texting or scrolling? Or even have you ever said to someone - Sorry what did you say? - while you are simultaneously staring at your phone? if this sounds like you then keep reading.
Nowadays we store half of our lives on the phone and apparently the idea of a 1% battery on the screen or leaving our phone at home sounds unimaginable and that’s why you should give yourself a digital detox in the same way you take vacations from work, because you will never know the benefits of the “offline” life till you try it and that’s why I want to share with you this post.
Last month (exactly before the quarantine lockdown in Greece) I have promised myself to keep away 4 days from my phone and don’t ask me how but I did it, it was such a pleasant experience: no social media, no photos, no texting, no mails, no calls, no stress and of course not falling back into the subconscious habit of checking the phone even without receiving any notification. I cant lie to you, The first day I was a little bit anxious but once you are conscious of it you feel less stressed and actually start to enjoy it.
Of course we won’t ignore the fact that we are facing this challenging period of social distancing and also it’s very paradoxical how the phone went from enemy to bestie in the blink of an eye ... It is essential to keep us connected to the ones we love who are also quarantined and away from us. On the other hand to make us realise the value of a face to face interaction, a real conversation or real contact… I’m sure that after this period we won’t ignore others while checking our phones!! So my invitation for you is to avoid stepping into the trap of scrolling and switching apps for no reason or checking the weather reports as an excuse to feed your obsession.
appreciate more your reality than your “virtuality”.
5 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL DETOX
1. For those who are working and can’t definitely quit their daily tasks or disconnect completely I highly suggest to try the “substitution law” this is, you can try to replace the apps you have on your phone (for work) downloading the desktop version and you can even focus and work without the rest of distractions.
2. Remember to check your screen time to have an idea of the apps you are spending most of the time and set yourself a decreasing goal (but achievable) let’s say if today you spent 4 hours on social media try to reduce it to 3 and a half, the next day 3 hours and keep going gradually.
3.Find activities to unplug from technology that do not include phone (or even a screen) like listening to music while you cooking, having a cup of coffee in your balcony, what if you have a home-spa-day?, redecorate your spaces at home, make something creative like printing and colouring a mandala, or what about learning a new language or playing an instrument.
4. Enjoy the real life. If you are eating, having a conversation, or even watching a movie avoid using your phone at the same time.
5. Think twice, you do not need your phone to wake up, you do not need your phone when you go to the bathroom, and for sure the last thing to do before you sleep is not precisely to check your phone (unless you want to sleep one hour later).
2. Remember to check your screen time to have an idea of the apps you are spending most of the time and set yourself a decreasing goal (but achievable) let’s say if today you spent 4 hours on social media try to reduce it to 3 and a half, the next day 3 hours and keep going gradually.
3.Find activities to unplug from technology that do not include phone (or even a screen) like listening to music while you cooking, having a cup of coffee in your balcony, what if you have a home-spa-day?, redecorate your spaces at home, make something creative like printing and colouring a mandala, or what about learning a new language or playing an instrument.
4. Enjoy the real life. If you are eating, having a conversation, or even watching a movie avoid using your phone at the same time.
5. Think twice, you do not need your phone to wake up, you do not need your phone when you go to the bathroom, and for sure the last thing to do before you sleep is not precisely to check your phone (unless you want to sleep one hour later).
