If you find yourself unable to put your phone down, it’s time for a digital detox. In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it works just about the same as any detox. However, this one will help you with productivity and relationships and improve your overall life quality. So, let’s learn all about it.
The Bad Effects of Technology
We all know how much good technology can bring us. It can connect us to our friends, provide all sorts of information, even be entertaining. However, there’s also a bad side to all of this. Technology can be just as bad as it is good.
First and foremost, once you have found yourself deep in the tech waters, you’ll find that it will require a lot of your attention. Phones are just so damn hard to put down, aren’t they? With this mindset, we start struggling with living our life tech-free.
Technology can also affect our productivity, relationships, even intimacy with our partners. It’s all too easy to succumb to it and forget about anything else going on around you. It’s always going to be just one more video to watch, just one more blog post to read.
That’s why it’s important and healthy to take a step back from time to time. Maybe even take a whole week without technology. It’ll help you see life from a different perspective and ground you. If this sounds like something you need, this is the perfect time for your digital detox!
What Is a Digital Detox?
Much like a regular detox we all know and love, a digital detox exists to cleanse you from all of the negative effects of technology. You can even call it a tech detox! This can be extremely helpful if you have severe FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). It will help you focus on the present and your own life for a change, instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing.
Still, what does this entail? Do you just lock your phone into a safe and give someone the key for a while or what? It’s different for everyone, so you can decide what you want to do based on what you need.
Some people forget about all of the technology they have for a week, while others simply lessen their screen time. After your detox is over, you can slowly reintroduce technology back into your life. You’ll find that you don’t depend on it as much as before.
Clean Your Apps
A lot of us have apps that we don’t even use. Some of them came with our phones, while others we once downloaded but stopped using after a short period of time. Still, those apps stay on our phone, taking up space for absolutely no reason.
Getting rid of unnecessary apps is one of the great ways to detoxify both yourself and your device. Think of it this way — if you haven’t used an app for over a week, you probably won’t use it at all. Time to press delete!
Turn Off Push Notifications
If you feel like your device is going to tempt you with all of the notifications, there’s a solution for that as well. Sometimes putting your phone on silent simply isn’t enough. You can still catch the notification pop up when your phone lights up. To prevent this from happening, simply switch off push notifications.
This way, you can still keep your device close in case of an emergency or if you need it for work. However, you won’t be distracted by a million notifications coming from all kinds of apps and social media.
Put Away Your Phone
Is there really something so entertaining and important that you cannot put your phone down even when you’re doing something else? There’s nothing more annoying than when you’re trying to hang out and have a conversation with someone, and all they do is stare at their phone. Nobody wants to be that person, so put your phone away.
This can mean putting it away during bedtime, meals with family, activities with friends. Alternatively, you can put it away at a designated time of day every day too.
Clean Up Your Friends List and Pages You Follow
How many times have you seen a post by someone you don’t even know? How about friends you are no longer in contact with? Do you have no explanation as to why you’re still friends with them on social media? It’s time to change that up.
This is especially essential when it comes to people you’re no longer in contact with or pages you no longer like. There’s no need for you to force yourself to look at them every single day. Remove them and watch your entire vibe change from that point on.
Limit Your Screen Time
If you find it difficult to put your phone down completely for whatever reason, you can simply limit your screen time. Newer phones have a built-in feature that tells you your screen time on a daily or weekly basis. This is how you can control how much time you spend on your device.
On the other hand, if you still struggle with self-control, there are multiple apps that can help you stay away from your phone. They will limit the features you can use while they’re active, so you won’t be able to do much anyway.
No Technology Day
Let’s talk about a complete electronic detox. Yes, we really do mean that you wouldn’t be using any technology for a whole day. That might seem like an impossible task, but you can easily conquer the day by planning some fun activities.
This can help your mind reset. We’re too dependent on technology nowadays. It seems that we can’t do anything without it. However, there’s an easy way to prove yourself and the world wrong. Go without technology for a whole day, and you’ll have a whole new perspective on life.
Deactivate Social Media Pages
The very last and probably the most difficult thing would be deactivating social media pages and accounts. Living in the era of the internet has taught us that we need to be in the loop with everything that’s going on at any point. Well, at least that’s how we all feel. Still, that’s very far away from the truth.
Deactivating your social media will force you to focus on different things in your life, be it your work or relationship. When you do that, you’ll find yourself to be more productive, and your relationships will improve.
Conclusion
The concept of a digital detox might seem scary to some, especially since we seem so dependent on social media nowadays. However, it will definitely improve your life, and when you try it, you’ll realize that there’s more to life than being attached to your phone.
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