Digital Detox

Have you ever thought of doing a digital detox?

Here's what you need to know and 5 easy steps to do a mini digital detox.

Digital technology has its positive aspects and at large has made day to day activities much easier to navigate. From online banking, shopping, job applications, mental health apps, healthy living apps, the list goes on to the benefits of using technology to free up a bit of time that can be spent elsewhere.

But where do we spend that extra time?

There's no question new technology's contribution to society is useful and resourceful, however we don’t just use it for functionality. More often we use it as a form of connectivity and entertainment. In moderation this is a good thing, but when we accumulatively spend hours every day on social media's, watching TV series, playing online games and so on, it becomes a form of escapism from our physical reality than a means of connectivity and entertainment.

The Netflix hangover...

Too much of a good thing is bad for you. You know what a hangover feels like right? Sore head, tired and dehydrated, barely able to function even with constant sugar hits. The main purpose of your day is merely to survive until you can see a good night’s sleep again. In my experience these hangovers are being endured more regularly from late night Netflix bingeing than alcohol. If you have experienced the Netflix hangover or more worryingly, experience it so often you don’t know what it feels like to go to sleep without Netflix anymore, then it’s time for a digital detox.

5 steps to a mini digital detox:

1. Set Boundaries

Try a set some reasonable physical boundaries for your tech. If you use your phone for an alarm, set it away from your bed. This will increase your chances for actually getting up instead of pressing snooze and decrease your chances of bingeing on social media and scrolling in bed when you can be using that valuable time for resting your body and mind.

2. Good Company

There is nothing more disengaging than speaking to someone and their phone. When in company, leave it in your bag or pocket. This leaves more space for meaningful interaction and open, present conversation, creating healthy personal relationships.

3. Dinner Table Etiquette

Again leave your phone, tablet, TV, off or away from the dinner table. This is a place for open conversation and interaction between people not technology.

4. The Little Jobs

It’s amazing how a little job or task can be prolonged by the distraction of instant messages, emails and scrolling through other people’s lives. Leave the phone down, get the job done and you've saved a little time for a cuppa while you scroll.

5. Save the hangover for the weekend.

Your body and mind will soon get exhausted and bored with endless box sets and severe lack of sleep. More importantly so will your boss when your daily job tasks become to look like an effort with constant Netflix hangovers. Save it for the weekend, share it with someone else and enjoy taking a few extra hours in bed to recover on Sunday morning...bliss!

#mindmotivation #digitaldetox #mentalhealth #lifecoachdublin