Today I’m sharing with you some of the things I tell my clients when they are about to start their own digital detox. These are the really practical things that we might overlook if not reminded.
If you are preparing to take a break from tech yourself then avoid frustration by considering these things below in advance.
For many of my clients, their tech use affects their confidence, and their ability to focus and complete tasks during the day.
Physical detachment from your devices
This is really about creating a bit of physical space between yourself and your devices, which these days are mainly our phones.
For example, the simple act of taking your phone out of your pocket and leaving it physically further away from you gives you the opportunity to notice yourself wanting to grab your phone before it ends up in your hand.
When you have a few minutes to spare, in that time you would usually go straight to your phone to fill that time, I recommend a simple breathing exercise instead.
Get into the habit of pausing before defaulting to your phone, as this starts to create more of that physical space between you and your tech.
Another simple thing to do is start your day with an alarm clock. This way you don’t begin your day with your phone in your hand, leading you to check your notifications on autopilot.
Emotional detachment from your devices
Social media can have a huge impact on our emotions. The things we see in our news feed have the power to get us really charged up; either positively or negatively.
Detaching a little from the online world means you can bring your relationships back into your real world. Practically speaking, this may be reaching out to a friend and arranging to meet in person.
Mental health and technology use
For many of my clients, their tech use affects their confidence, and their ability to focus and complete tasks during the day.
Constant notifications are a huge distraction. I suggest to my clients to use their airplane mode for periods of quiet focus, then they can return to checking their notifications when they are ready.
For some people, there is also an aspect of needing to give yourself permission to not reply immediately to all messages. Getting a handle on this is a really positive step for your mental health too.
Commit to practising ‘mini detoxes’
While a full-time detox can be a shock to the system, I recommend building smaller ‘mini detoxes’ into your working week. It’s the small, sustainable habits we build over time that have the most impact in the end.
Will you be doing this yourself?
Comment below and let me know what you will be committing to.
To learn more about sleep see: The 10 Day Sleep Challenge
