In a digital age, it can be extremely difficult to avoid all of the flashing lights, advertisements, news, etc. that everyone shares on the internet. The internet can be a very overwhelming place with all of the decisions that we are required to make.
A digital detox is a simple remedy to the overwhelm and the stress that we endure on a daily basis as a result of electronics. If you want to feel more connected to other people and the world around you, limiting your phone usage may be the place to begin.
This article will show you the benefits of a digital detox as well as guide you through the process of doing a digital detox. This four-week challenge will renew your mind and your attitude toward life. You’ll have more time to see the good in the world and to contribute positively towards your community.
I did a digital detox for a month starting mid-December and ending mid-January and I experienced great benefits. It became easier for me to focus, I could distinguish valuable content more easily and clicked off when I realized that I was wasting my time. My productivity flourished because I could direct my attention towards more fulfilling tasks.
Most of all, when I rejoined social media, I learned that I had missed very little. I was under the impression that I would have a catalog of videos to watch upon my return and was sorely disappointed to find that the majority of content put out there does not withstand the test of time.
Overall, I experienced many benefits from the digital detox and recommend that everyone try it.
Benefits of Digital Detox
- Improved focus and productivity – You will have more time to explore your ideas and avoid distractions caused by social media.
- Better quality of sleep – If you struggle with maintaining a good sleep schedule, this may be a sign that you need to turn off your electronics. You will be able to fall asleep more easily and have higher quality sleep once you limit your electronics usage.
- Enhanced mental clarity and creativity – A digital detox allows your brain to work less because you would be consuming less information. The free space in your brain can be used to be more creative and to have a clear mind.
- Strengthened relationships and social connections – Freeing up your time allows you the chance to reconnect with old friends and spend more time with your loved ones. Having the time to analyze what is important to you will help you determine what truly matters to you.
- Increased mindfulness and reduced stress levels – Every time you interact with social media, there is a chance that you will be exposed to a source of stress. By giving yourself a break, you can focus on your own life and not take on the stress of others. You also will become more aware of yourself and your thoughts when you begin a digital detox.
Planning Your Digital Detox
Before you begin your digital detox, I recommend looking at your current habits with technology. Do you frequently use your phone before bed? How often do you binge-watch videos? What is your average daily screen time? When do you find yourself scrolling on social media the most?
These questions will give you a place to begin. If you have any habits that you want to specifically focus on, this is a great opportunity to improve and create new and productive habits.
To have a successful detox, it is best to set your parameters beforehand. Anticipate the questions you will have during the digital detox now to save yourself the trouble of ambiguity later.
Once you set your parameters such as the timeline, which apps you will be detoxing, when you have permission to interact with the app, etc., you can set your goals.
Some questions that you can ask yourself to get in a goal-setting mindset are:
- What do I hope to achieve from this detox?
- What area of my life can benefit the most from a digital detox?
Once you answer these questions, you will be ready to start making goals for your digital detox. The goals should be challenging and motivating at the same time. Sometimes, we find it difficult to stay motivated towards achieving our goals and that is normal. The power of setting goals is. In challenging ourselves to do better and to push ourselves closer to our full potential.
Good goals to set for a digital detox are:
- Completing a month-long digital detox
- Restart an old hobby
- Complete a project that was delayed because of a lack of focus.
- Call a new family member once a week.
Implementing the Detox Challenge
The Thriving Independently detox challenge will last 4 weeks. 4 weeks is a great amount of time because it is long enough that it will properly disrupt your daily routine, but it is short enough to be attainable for the majority of people.
This challenge will focus on different aspects of your digital detox and will have different goals for each week.
Week One
Week one may be the most challenging for those who have never done a digital detox before. In week one, you will cut out social media. It’s time to remove the apps, turn off the notifications, and clear your phone space.
It won’t be enough to only log out of the apps because it is way too easy to access them again. By deleting the apps, you will create friction between wanting to access social media and being able to access social media.
You will find that you have most of the withdrawal symptoms this week. You might find yourself constantly reaching for your posh one or longing for an update on the people you enjoy watching. When your mind is facing withdrawals, you will need to find other ways to spend your time.
During this week, you should be careful to document the emotions that you are feeling. Disrupting your daily habits in such an abrupt way is sure to create some sort of resistance. You will have this to look back on throughout the challenge so documenting how you feel during this first week is important.
Week Two
Week two is all about limiting your screen time overall. The previous week was about deleting social media, but you may have diverted your attention to other electronic stimuli. Now is the time to limit your consumption of other media like the news, streaming services, and any other form of entertainment you have that requires being online.
You can unplug from your screen and explore different hobbies. You may have gotten by in the first week, but this week, you will spend more time figuring out how you want to spend your time. You can start with something small like painting or reading a book.
You can spend your time being outside and hiking or visiting your local library or museum. The internet is great at keeping us inside and within our comfort zones. Releasing yourself from these limits is a great way to create new experiences.
Week Three
Week three is the week that you can use to address your digital clutter. It is easy to digital clutter when you are busy living life. Just like your physical clutter, it is important to go through your digital clutter.
Organize your files and photos in a way that makes them easily accessible later on. You may have old emails or apps that you have intended to delete but never gotten around to it.
Reducing clutter is a great way to maintain a clear mind and to help you focus. You don’t want to waste time searching through unorganized files and have that stop you from completing what you initially set out to do.
Week Four
Week four is all about being present. At this point, you no longer have the urge to reach for social media and you have found some things that you like to do offline.
Now is the time where you can really focus on building your relationships, practice mindfulness, and avoid distractions. You can have face-to-face interactions with people and catch up on all that you’ve missed.
We all tend to think and behave as the center of our own worlds. Meeting people and sharing experiences with them can give you a new perspective and appreciation for the life that you are living.
Overcoming Challenges and Temptations
Whenever you make the effort to improve your life, you are sure to encounter some challenges along the way. A digital detox is a way to renew your mind and distance you from the chaos that comes with the internet.
One common challenge that you my face when doing a digital detox is FOMO. FOMO, a.k.a the fear of missing out may tempt you to cut the challenge short. You may be used to staying up to date with the current trends or the news that you are interested in.
This challenge is a great opportunity to prove to yourself that you are not missing out. You can always go back and find the stuff that you didn’t catch in real time. When you delay your consumption, you avoid the emotional roller coaster that comes with witnessing news in real time.
Another challenge you may face during the digital detox is withdrawal. When you first delete social media apps, it is easy to forget that you have done it. You will find yourself reaching for your phone or wanting to look for updates only to realize that you can’t.
These withdrawal symptoms are strongest at the beginning of the challenge, but I found that they subsided as I got further along.
One way to help with the withdrawal symptoms is to remember why you wanted to do this challenge in the first place. Think about the benefits that you want to receive and how you will feel once you have given your mind the time to rest.
The digital detox challenge is a great test of your patience. You will need to find other things to do in the time that you would normally spend on social media. Strategies such as opening a book whenever you get the urge to open a social media app or hiding your phone whenever you need to focus will help you last through the challenge.
Reflecting on the Experience
Now that you have completed the challenge, it is time to reflect on your experiences.
A great tool that you can use to reflect on the digital detox is a journal. You can write about the highs and lows you experienced, the most challenging part of the digital detox, your favorite part of the digital detox, etc.
Journaling about this experience will give you the chance to analyze what you have just been through. Evaluate the digital detox and consider whether or not it was beneficial to you. Would you do it again? What were your biggest takeaways from the challenge?
You should be proud of yourself that you were able to complete this challenge. It goes against the current of what has become normal in this day and age.
By disrupting your dependency on content from other people, you have essentially reset your brain to find stimulation from other sources. It is much easier to discern reality when you step away from social media. Hopefully, this experience has led you to interact more with the world around you.
Final Thoughts
The digital detox challenge is an opportunity for you to unplug from the internet and become in tune with the world around you. There are so many benefits to completing a challenge like this. You’ll find that you crave the internet less, it will be easier to focus, achieve better sleep, improve your relationships, etc.
Share your experience with the digital detox challenge and your lessons learned in the comments. We want everyone to experience the benefits of taking a digital break and recharging their mind.
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