A new year, heck a new decade is upon us, hello 2020! With the dawning of a new year we all tend to focus on how to improve our habits and our lives; with our increasing usage and reliance on tech your soul maybe screaming for a little digital cleanse. Technology has become increasingly necessary to accomplish our jobs and an integral part of our daily lives, but more often than not our devices distract us from being present and have become an invasive species! Holding technology in the palm of our hands can interfere with person to person interactions, and increased use of technology can lead to depression and anxiety. Did you know the average American spends as much as 12 hours in front of a TV, computer or smart phone? Yikes! Technology disconnects us from the real world around us and with heavy usage of social media it can lead to a constant cycle of comparison and unrealistic expectations across every facet of your life. A technology detox is a great way to re-establish balance and establish healthier habits and boundaries.
Here are 5 Easy to Implement Tech Detox Tips:
- Set Social Media Limits-We have all found ourselves down a rabbit hole mindlessly scrolling and wondering where all the hours in the day went (seriously it is a black hole!) the goal with a tech detox is to become more mindful and intentional about your social media interactions. Set specific hours when you are allowed to check your social channels (e.g. 8am, 12pm, 5pm) and set an alarm for a pre-determined amount of time. When the timer goes off, devices down, scrolling done. This will satisfy your desire to see what your favorite blogger had for breakfast while setting healthy limits. Over time you will notice how much time you used to spend waste on social media and when you keep up with the scheduled and timed social scrolling this will lead to a more productive and present self.
- Eliminate Email Frenzy-Another time suck is defaulting to checking email accounts! An easy solution to implement is to utilize the automatic out of office message for a few designated hours each day instructing the recipients to call you if urgent. It is OK to let everyone know that in order to do your best work you will NOT be responding to emails between certain hours. Also, turn off push notifications and sound alerts for all email accounts, like Pavlov’s dog we hear that DING and immediately our thoughts and our hands race to open the inbox or grab our phone to check the email. If you feel to anxious about leaving your emails unread for too long set an alarm to check emails once per hour or at a rate that will allow you to disconnect yet feel relaxed enough to focus on the present.
- Seek out Cell Phone Free Zones-Scheduling time in locations or engaging in activities where cell phones are not allowed is sure fire way to spend quality time disconnected from tech and reconnected with the present. Choose an activity that you enjoy and make this time your sacred time to put away the device and relish the task at hand. Some suggestions are to take a yoga class, meditation or fitness class, go to church, take a swim (your phone literally will stop working if you attempt to bring along with you), bike ride, volunteer or hit the spa.
- Out of sight out of mind-This one is easy but requires discipline! Put your phone on silent, tuck it into a drawer, closet or at least the guest room that you have no need to enter unless you are expecting out of town visitors and need to restock TP and fluff the pillows. Then walk away for at least 30 minutes, if 30 minutes is easy for you try it for a longer period. The point is to experience life without a device to distract you!
- Give your devices a bedtime-We all know that the light our screens emit has adverse effects on our bodies ability to fall asleep and to stay asleep, as well as the fact that getting sucked into binge watching the latest Netflix sensation or catching up on your high school ex’s life can cause us to stay up way past our bedtimes. Set a bedtime for all your devices, enable a nightly alarm to remind you and help you to stick to it. Screens should go off an hour before you want to be asleep and then you can pick up a book or your journal to begin to unwind from the day.
These are only a few tips to help guide you while your work on detoxing from your devices! I advise you to also take notice when you break a rule and how that feels, how does it feel when you follow through and stick to your rules allowing you time to disconnect and live in the present moment, speaking and listening without the ever present phone distraction? The more time you spend away from your devices you will begin to observe how often you reach for technology mindlessly and you can begin to adjust your habits for a healthier balance and less co-dependent relationship.
