Last week a friend told me he’d ditched all things digital. I asked him what impact this had on his day-to-day life. He said, “My head is clearer… I have more time to spend on what’s important to me.”
I became acutely aware of how much time I spend on my phone. Whether I’m travelling, having lunch, or spending a night in with friends, my mobile is guaranteed to make an appearance. Because of this, my head isn’t clear; it’s clouded with a constant awareness of my presence online and the desire to be involved in the virtual lives of others.
The fear of isolation hooks us in; we are afraid of being disconnected from what we believe is important. But is it really necessary to spend hours on Instagram, to check the news six times a day, and to talk to people as often as we do online?
Let’s find out. Learn how to manage a digital detox without failing after the first hurdle using these intelligent and unintimidating first steps.
1. Start your detox slowly
Have you ever tried to give up sugar? Wine? Something that’s tricky to live without? It’s hard. The urge to rid yourself of something that has a negative impact on your life can be powerful. So, you confidently go cold turkey because you want to. And that desire should make it easy. Right?
Wrong. Take away something you enjoy (or are addicted to) all at once and you’re inviting withdrawal symptoms. The bigger your urges are to reconnect online, the more distant your reasons will get for starting the ban in the first place. Make it easier: start slowly. Pick a time where being online is off limits, or uninstall an app you use regularly. Get used to being online less and less, and give yourself time to decide if a digital detox is right for you.
2. Tell the people important to you
Going virtually incognito can also be worrying for people who care about you. Tell your family, friends, and colleagues what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how they can contact you. Be careful not to alienate yourself. Depending on how much time you talk to people online, cutting off all online communication will whittle down the hours you spend socialising.
Make up for this by engaging with people in other ways. Arrange meetups, write letters, or organise phone calls with friends and family far away. Yes, it’s more long-winded than typing a message on WhatsApp or Facebook. But because you're making time for someone (and time is valuable), you discover which relationships are meaningful to you.
3. Switch off your devices after work
I get it. Disappearing from the online hemisphere can be detrimental job wise, especially if a lot of client interaction and company processes take place online. But do you need to be enveloped in an online bubble after work?
Prepare by giving your clients and colleagues an emergency contact number: like your home phone. Then switch off your mobile after stepping through your front door, and enjoy some down time in the real world.
4. Keep a diary
It might feel like another trial but keeping a record of the way you feel during a digital detox is very useful. You can decipher how being offline affects your mood, your productivity, or your feelings towards other people.
Understanding how your detox affects your mood lets you work out what you should try next. Remember: your detox doesn’t have to follow a set of rules. Identify what works best for you, and develop a clear and powerful strategy to achieve success.
5. Be more present in reality
Let’s say you’re eating a meal. Instead of 'Facebooking' with one hand and eating with the other, concentrate on enjoying your food. How does it taste? Are you relaxed after a hard day’s work? Are you eating with anyone else? How does being with them make you feel? Savour the details that make you happy. Ask yourself: would I have missed that if I was on my phone?
6. Rely on other sources of news
You might be concerned that leaving the digital world makes you ignorant to personal or worldly affairs. There’s sense in that; nowadays, important news is instantly accessible online. But there are plenty of other ways to seek out this information.
Engage in stories with others, listen to their reactions and ask questions. Read a newspaper you trust as a reliable source of information. Do this for a week, and access how much you missed out on. Bonus: in an age of ‘post-truth’, you benefit from waiting for a full story. Get reliable, well-reported information, as opposed to ‘breaking news’ click bait online.
Your Challenge
It’s time to put theory into practice. Pick a date and choose a strategy (or several) from the tips discussed. Become accountable by setting daily targets. Don’t forget to be conscious about the way you feel throughout the detoxing process. It’s the only way you’ll know if it’s working for you.
Here are some extra tips that'll help you turn your digital detox into a lifestyle:
1. Don’t let you mobile screen be the first thing you see in a morning
2. Only respond to emails and texts at specific times of the day
3. Find a new hobby to fill your spare time
4. Don’t use your phone as an alarm clock
5. Buy a watch
6. Switch your phone to aeroplane mode at night
7.Use an offline device to take pictures
How much time have you saved living in an offline world? What worked for you and what didn’t? We’d love to hear about it.
