10 Tips for a Technology Detox

I don’t know what it is about this new year, but it took me longer to find inspiration for my work and joy throughout the day. I wasn’t feeling energized when I woke up – it’s like I was a zombie going through the motions. When thinking of reasons why my creativity was at an all-time low, I connected the dots back to what I think could be the source – screen time. As the temperature went down my screen time went way up. All this time spend on a device, whether it’s a phone, laptop, or TV, is slowly draining us as we watch other people living their lives rather than living our own.

With remote work meaning, we have to be virtual for at least part of the day, I’m making an effort to be better about turning things off. If you’re like me and need a little push to not press the “Next Episode” button on Netflix, here are some things that I’m doing to unplug. Here are my…

10 Tips for a Tech Detox

1. No technology for an hour before bed.
2. Charge your phone at night in a room other than your bedroom.
3. Instead of spending the whole weekend binge-watching a series, pick either Saturday or Sunday and commit to being completely TV-free.
4. Put the remote away – out of sight. Like in a cabinet or drawer.
5. Swap out the habit of turning on the TV at the end of the day with turning on your favorite playlist instead.
6. Commit to going outside for at least 30 minutes a day, while leaving your phone at home.
7. Unsubscribe from unwanted emails once a month.
8. Dedicate parts of your house to be technology-free zones. Like your bathroom or bedroom.
9. Eat meals without your phone.
10. They say that the first 15 minutes of your day sets your mood for the rest of the day. Commit to not checking your phone first thing when you wake up. Instead, start your day with a healthy habit like meditating, stretching, or growing closer to your faith.

As we spent this past year being more isolated in our homes, the increase of time online and checking our phones has increased far too much. Of course, there are wonderful pros to technology – it’s one of the only ways we get social connection during quarantine, it keeps us informed by watching the news, it is fun to watch that new movie or series that just dropped, and it allows you to read amazing articles such as this one 😉  😉 ! But we forget that this is also taking from being present. So, let this serve as a friendly reminder to unplug every day and get back to finding ourselves. Which of these 10 is your favorite?