We talk a lot here at Loren’s World about the latest and greatest apps, gadgets and social media tools, but what about giving your mind and your eyes a bit of a tech break? As much as the most up-and-coming social media platforms, apps and new phones are part of the daily conversation, there’s also recently been quite a bit of chatter around how to take it down a notch.
Time Out: Taking a Tech Break
Think about it: if you’re really honest with yourself, are you addicted to your smart phone? The answer is most likely, yes. Whether or not we want to admit it, most of us have become completely dependent on our phones. It serves as our main source of communication – it’s our access to Facebook and Instagram, it’s our calendar, and even our record of anything from financial information to tracking how many calories we burn each day. There’s no doubt we need these things. But how about taking a break? How about challenging yourself to take a few hours a day to live sans phone? Can you do it? Would you do it? Here are a few tips for taking a tech break – from mini daily departures from smart phone dependency to a vacation completely free of connectivity.
Set some boundaries. The biggest culprit of setting the tone for the day (and a hot topic lately) is scrolling through your smart phone while laying in bed. Would it really be that much of a challenge to leave the smartphone out of the bedroom and read a book instead? For some, this would be tough – breaking a habit that’s been formed over the last few years, but for others a welcome change. So give it a try. Leave your phone in another room at night – plug it in to charge up overnight – take a break as soon as you head to bed. Try going back to a traditional alarm clock and take this as an opportunity to read a book or practice breathing and meditation. You’ll be amazed at the sense of peace this brings.
Build tech-free time into your daily schedule. A few great spots to go tech-free include when you’re at your early morning workout – leave your email and Facebook updates behind for an hour while you focus 100% on yourself and your health. Take a walk or go to lunch with friends and leave your phone at your desk. Sounds intense, right? How will people get a hold of me? What if I miss an important email? You know what – for one hour, each day – it will be OK. Your mind will thank you for it. Schedule tech-free family time each evening. Turn it all off for an hour or two every evening. Eat dinner together, play a board game, walk the dog as a family – but turn it all off. Remember the days when your mom and dad wouldn’t even answer the phone during dinner time? There was something pretty genius to that.
Take a tech-free vacation. Challenge yourself to head out on vacation for a weekend (and work your way to a full week), where you don’t check email and you skip social media entirely. Take yourself back to a time when vacation was an escape from everything. Stockpile magazines and books – or even do nothing! Bottom line: unplug for an extended amount of time. Sounds a bit scary, but you know what – you’ll return actually feeling like you disconnected, truly relaxed and left all your worries behind. You’ll be refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to tackle anything that comes your way.
Be conscious about the amount of time you use tech each day. It’s pretty simple: rather than mindlessly scrolling all day, every day – take a mindful approach to when your eyes and your brain need a break. Remind yourself that it’s OK. You’re allowed to disconnect. You’ll be a better employee, family member, friend and partner by having a few minutes a day when you are just you. What do you think? Do you need a tech break – could you implement these ideals into your daily and family life?
