In Need of a Digtial Detox?
I don't always have the healthiest relationship with technology. Endlessly scanning social media sites. Incessantly checking emails. Texting, calling, Face-timing. Using the laptop in bed. Constantly connected, and not on a personal level. Harvard Medical School scientists have found that switching off from technology every so often can offer a myriad of health benefits from physical to mental health. I decided to embark on a "digital detox" and exploring what else I could do if I 'powered down' for a day.
No TV.
No iPad.
No laptop.
No iPhone....the real killer...and yes I broke this one, just a little!
It reminded me of 'Earth Hour' where you light candles and switch off all technology including lights. Or one of those TV shows where they live like Colonial times.
For a while, I couldn't STOP thinking about IT. That is, who was calling me, which TV show I was missing, what people were doing on Facebook!
But, then I reminded myself that fifteen years ago no one had a mobile phone and it was surely possible to unplug for a day. Wasn't it?
And, this is what I discovered...
Time. Glorious time. Lots of available time to do all the things I actually really enjoy, like...
A more meaningful catch-up with my girlfriend. I wasn't checking my iPhone every two minutes for a message or work email. Instead, I was engaged in our conversation and what she had to say. And I learned more things about her. Things I never knew. Things I wouldn't have learned if I had my iPhone on me. From now on I am going to remember when I am with my friends to tuck my phone away.
Swimming in the ocean for as long as I wanted without worrying about how many emails I had banked up, or if I had missed an important call. And what did I realise? It can WAIT! It doesn't have to be actioned immediately, all the time. The world isn't going to end if I miss a few emails!
Reading a book that I had put off for a while. And without any distractions! Just bliss. I questioned why I didn't read all the time, and I made a pact with myself to do it much more often.
Meditation, a re-connection to the earth...okay perhaps that's going to deep, but I did become less task oriented and more people oriented. I sat and drank coffee without answering emails. I exercised, and then lay on the couch doing nothing. I slowed down and allowed myself to get bored. It was so very relaxing...just doing nothing...
It also got me thinking. In what other ways could I lower my digital footprint?
I switched my email and calendar alerts off. I usually leave it on so that while I am working I am alerted to every new email. I flick between the windows on the screen about 30 times every hour - and I am always on a permanent 'high alert' state, complete with an unnatural heart rate.
I booked a remote holiday destination for our next break. I enjoy hitting a 'dead zone' when I am on holidays, with low or no connectivity. My husband Brad on the other hand can't help himself. "I'm just going to get a drink honey, would you like one?" 20 minutes later when I am baking hot and in desperate need of a water I find my husband crouched behind a couch doing a work email.
The key, I think, it is to find a remote holiday destination with no phone or Internet coverage.
I am going to try and commit to a "digital Detox" one day a week. From my experience, nothing terrible happens when I disconnect for a day. At worst, I missed a couple of social invites, and at best I missed a couple of tele sales calls.
The trade off is a better quality of time with those people I do socialise with on that day.
Would you be willing to disconnect to reconnect? What do you have to lose? I'd love to hear about your experience.
If you would like to detox your body, mind, and home why not join our 30-Day Mojo Detox. We do not promote fad products or potions, we show you how to detox using real food and techniques to not only detox your diet but your whole environment.