Digital Detox

I have been on a digital detox for about two days. What I mean by it is to limit the access to all digital devices and communications: no emails, no internet, no mobile phone, no TV, nothing. Ideally, I should have completely switched off the mobile phone, but since I don’t have a landline, I decided to keep it on. I turned off most of the applications on my phone, and switched off the Wifi too. I only checked my phone once during the two days for the incoming calls.

So why do a digital detox? Because it feels great! I knew it from my experience of spending a longer digital detox period. I feel refreshed after only two days of this digital detox. My mind is clearer, as I had time to do self-reflection.

This digital detox period also helped me to detox my body. Because I had less distractions, I was more focused while eating, so I ate less. I went to bed early, and the quality of sleep was better. I woke up refreshed, without an alarm clock. During these two days, I was also following a simple Ayurvedic diet, so that also helped to detox my body.

I decided to do a digital detox this time because I have spent too much time (more than before) ‘online’ over the past 4 months. Initially it started with the outbreak of the COVID-19 and this global pandemic. I was on SNS and emails in order to check safety of all my friends around the world. Then I started to use Twitter and Instagram - which I rarely used before - as a result, the number of hours spent on SNS increased. So I decided that it was time to do some digital detox.

If you are interested in trying a digital detox, below are some tips that I developed myself (so it may or may not work for you):

- Choose when to do it wisely: do it over a weekend or when you don’t have to work, or go out of your house (as there are many digital monitors on the train, etc.)
- Communicate your plan: inform your family and close friends that you will be off-line for those days (and maybe why), and keep one communication channel open for emergency contact purpose only
- If you are sharing a house with others, ask for cooperation (maybe harder if your family loves to watch TV every night)
- Disconnect your digital devices: if you can, disconnect your ASDL or Wifi router, and disable most of the applications on your mobile phone in case you need to keep it alive (for emergency contact)
- Make a food plan: Stock up your fridge so you don’t have to go for grocery shopping during the digital detox period
- Keep a healthy life style: Hydrate and exercise while you are on the digital detox. I would recommend morning walks in a park or nature. Don’t sit still all the time at home, keep moving and drink lots of water too. Doing a house cleaning is another good way to keep your body moving!