Given the current level of technology, it is difficult to picture a day without opening email, browsing social networks, or watching series. Technological advances continue to become commonplace in every aspect of our existence giving us convenience, entertainment, and interaction. But, having multiple notifications, and updates and spending much time on the device, we can be easily stressed. This is where the idea of digital detoxing comes in; a process of stepping down from the normal technology use to incorporate some change into your life.
In this guide, I’ll cover tips for cutting down on screen time as well as going completely screen-free, so you can get back your time and your wellbeing.
Why It Is Important To Go For a Digital Detox for Better Mental Health
There is evidence that reveals that ostei2 prolonged use of television threatens the well-being of the users through an increase in stress, anxiety, and depression. It is greatly depressing to be informed day in and day out, and this results in conditions like; poor concentration, and insomnia among others. This brings a feeling of being overwhelmed and ‘burnt-out’ by the need to constantly connect, answer messages, follow, and contribute to trending topics.
On the other hand, taking a break from technology is a way of breaking down such mental work. A digital detox can:
- Improve focus and concentration.
- Increase creativity by trying to minimize interferences.
- Foster better sleep habits.
- Encourage more people to form stronger bonds with one another.
- Mainly, such an app can help to lessen the level of stress and anxiety.
All in all, a digital detox enables one to refocus on the self as well as the environment positively in a person’s psychological and physical health.
10 Symptoms That Indicate You Need a Digital Detox
Still in doubt whether or not it is time to go on a digital detox? Here are some signs that technology might be taking over your life:
- You take your phone to the bathroom and only fetch clothes from your dressing table.
- Lack of devices causes anxiety or stress-like feelings because the devices have become an important part of daily life.
- Sometimes you find yourself wasting hours browsing social networks or applications.
- It becomes hard for you to complete a task or work on a specific project without having to attend to your phone or computer.
- You often have sleep disorders or suffer from a lack of sleep.
The symptoms mentioned above should be a red flag, making you consider reducing screen time or maybe, regaining control of your time.
Writing an Article on Planning a Digital Detox
What I’m proving with the above tips on taking a digital detox does not have to be an extreme action. You don’t have to give up on technology all your life or go on a full-blown digital detox. The point here is that what you need to do is to try and identify what sort of balance can suit you to the best of your capabilities. To help you plan a digital detox that will suit your lifestyle, here is a guide on how to plan for it.
1. Military-style Communication: TAB, To Do List and Briefing, Check, Action Review, and Plan
It’s important to reflect on your intent before you begin to detox so think about why you wish to unplug. Maybe you want to manage stress or something like that? Improve productivity? Get to know other people better? This means that having your goals in mind will keep you motivated throughout your detox process.
Some common goals for a digital detox include:
- Limiting social media usage.
- Reducing overall screen time.
- Read books, listened to music, played games, and otherwise engaged in other real-world pastimes instead of active use of the Internet.
- Better sleep, no screen time before going to sleep.
2. Start Small
You do not have to get all techfree but you do have to learn how to manage your technology healthily. Begin with limiting hours or minutes set of technology-free zone in your day. For example:
- Eliminate the use of technologies from the morning and probably the evening.
- The third way is to help one limit the usage of devices by not using them during meals or social events.
- Adopt the no-screen rule where children are concerned especially in the bedroom.
Thus, such an approach will ease the process of cutting down the screen time since the changes are to be made gradually.
3. Create Tech-Free Zones
Our final recommendation is as simple as not using screens in certain rooms or areas of the house or only when necessary. For example:
Bedroom: One of the practical and simple tips is to donate electronics to other rooms for the bedroom to remain a phone and laptop-free zone or TV-free zone. This will improve the sleep quality and provide a conducive sleeping condition.
Dining Room: Avoid the use of technology during moments when you are eating so that you can fully break and also spend quality time with your loved ones.
This makes you have some time out from using gadgets and you greatly avoid the urge to keep scrolling through your phone.
4. Schedule Offline Activities
It is difficult to decode what one should do with all the free time that comes with digital detoxing. To ensure that one does not spend all his or her time on screen, engaging himself or herself in productive chores or activities that he or she enjoys doing is advisable. Here are some ideas:
Read a book: Read a book and get out of the habit of watching series on Netflix.
Exercise: Take a walk, attend a yoga session, or try a new fitness regime.
Meditate: Spend time without noise whether in the form of meditation, thinking or even entertainment in order to create a vacuum for the mind.
Get creative: Spend time with art, paint, cook, bake something new, or start a new DIY.
You’ll see reductions in screen time a day for which you’ll feel more productive and wholesome offline.
5. Create No Phone in the Morning Habit
The kind of morning we wake up to determines what the rest of the day will be like. All of us can be accused of getting up, or brushing aside the covers, and immediately ‘checking in’ with our devices, through emails, notifications, news feeds etc. This habit can make the stress levels rise and will help you to start the day not in the right way.
Instead, establish a phone-free morning routine: Instead, establish a phone-free morning routine:
Start your day with a warm-up of 10 minutes of stretching or a few minutes of meditation.
Sip on a cup of water or sit with your cup of coffee in the morning, and think of what you want to achieve in the day.
If you have to check your phone then do so Once you are done with your morning routine.
That way, postponing screen time will make you start the day fresh and with a clear mind.
6. As one way, adopt apps to control the amount of time spent on screen-related activities.
Surprisingly, there are several apps that are created to assist a person in monitoring the amount of time spent in front of screens and/or perform tech-breaks. They can monitor the certain amount of time you spend with your phone, or limit the time you spend in the specific application, or even block certain websites.
Some popular screen-time limiting apps include: Some popular screen-time-limiting apps include:
Forest: Set the rule that for as long as one does not use the phone, they contributing to planting of a virtual tree.
Moment: Limit the amount of time you spend in front of screens and establish the screen use goals for the day.
Freedom: Filter some sites and applications that are not useful during working time or leisure time.
By using one can enhance his or her attachment and utilize time more productively and with less time on their gadgets.
7. Practice the 20-20-20 Rule
It is a very common side effect, if you often sit in front of a screen at work, your eyes will feel strained and tired. The 20-20-20 rule helps combat digital eye strain: The 20-20-20 rule helps combat digital eye strain:
This is possible by incorporating the ’20-20-20 rule’, which requires one to take a 20-second break every 20 minutes and focus on something located 20 feet away. It can decrease eye strain and make one take more breaks from the screen making the person more refreshed all day.
Internal Link Idea: One tutorial that one can find helpful is: “How to Improve Your Focus and Productivity”
How to Stay Active When Cutting the Use of Electronic Devices
Although it might appear counterintuitive to step away from technology if you want to accomplish more in your workday, it turns out that people do better when they briefly opt-out. That means without these constant notifications, the feeling of being bombarded by social media, for example, like ‘I must look at Facebook right now’ — all of those things go away.
1. Batch Work
Thus, instead of multitasking even during the detox time, which was defined in the previous section, try to group all your work in one or another field during that time. Set aside particular days or hours in a day for one or the other task, be it replying to emails, developing ideas, or executing a task. Being able to concentrate on a single task at a time limits wastage of time and thus achieving mars productivity.
2. Take Frequent Breaks
Productivity doesn’t equal working as hard as you can without a break. Break-, time away from your phone or computer relaxes the mind, and makes the body active throughout the day’s activities.
3. Reconnecting with Others
Another good thing about doing a digital detox is getting to interact more with people that you probably haven’t talked to all that much in a long time because you are always staring at a screen. In as much as we appreciate the technology we end up spending most of our time with our family and friends on the screens. This time you get a chance to engage your relatives or friends or even people in the streets in a much better way without them interrupting you now and then through their phones or laptops.
Increase the amount of time you spend talking to your friends, colleagues, or family members directly.
Make ‘screen-less’ actions such as riddle, game, walk, or any cross-country barbeque.
Pay attention to ‘how’ you communicate when you are talking to other people while avoiding the use of your phone to text others.
Some of the Things You Can Do for a Long-Term Digital Detox:
When you are done with your digital detox you might want to keep up some of the no-tech and less-tech habits for longer. Here’s how to maintain balance in the long term: Here’s how to maintain balance in the long term:
Regularly schedule tech-free hours or days: Ideally, make a schedule to work and play separately, and set aside certain days in which one should shut off the devices and go offline.
Turn off non-essential notifications: Adjust your device’s notifications to turn off all the unnecessary notifications to allow only the relevant ones.
Limit social media usage: Restrict the use of apps by a certain amount of time that is allowed to be spent within a day or a certain time of the day.
It’s time to regain control over your time and life. A digital detox is not just not using your phone or computer, it’s about taking back control of your life, increasing your well-being, and rekindling your relationships with the real environment. This way, the usage of the technology will not overwhelm you and instead, make life much more meaningful. Small or big, the effects of a digital detox are truly life-changing; for a few hours a day or for the entire non-working time of the week.
