Last week, I took part in a digital detox whereby each day there was a new challenge and the aim is to reduce the time spent online and to live in the real world rather than a world of likes, page views, hits and general over stimulation. I have mentioned in a previous post about how at night, I am always on my phone, iPad or iPod which has definitely been affecting my sleep pattern and quality of sleep because my brain always needs to be connected and scrolling, constantly scrolling.
So I embarked on this digital detox with a lot of trepidation and like a parent leaving their child at school for the first time, I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know if I could deal with it and I didn't know what I would do with my time. Would the internet miss me? What would I miss if I didn't check social media or my emails every half an hour? Would my blog views drop if I'm not constantly online? The latter did happen but overall it's been a enlightening and positive experience, even though it was very difficult!
I was kindly sent a few products to help with the digital detox including:
- Newgate Covent Alarm Clock
- Colouring Pencils
- Secret Garden Adult Colouring Book
- Notebooks
- How To Connect With Nature By Trisan Gooley
Day One: Turn off your phone alarm and turn on your alarm clockThis wasn't a difficult first step as I don't use my phone alarm anyway, my body just always wakes up at the right time pretty much everyday - I have no idea why, maybe I'm a freak of nature! Also the Newgate alarm clock was a much nicer alarm clock compared to my cheap one from Ikea; it also fits in my with minimal, natural toned bedroom really well - I love the design! The alarm noise is quite loud and it was a bit of a shock, thats for sure but I have been able to stick to this task. You have to stick to each goal everyday for the whole week of the detox.
Day Two: Leave your phone/digital devices outside your bedroom when you go to sleepI have to admit this is the challenge that I was dreading the most and I knew it would be the hardest for me to stick to and in all honesty I did cheat once because I'm just used to using my phone/iPad before I sleep - it's a habit for me and it definitely does negatively affect my sleep which I mentioned in my Wake Up Ready post. Not using my phone, iPad or iPod before I go to sleep was so difficult and I did struggle with it especially the first night as I was thinking about how much I wanted to scroll through social media *especially Pinterest which I'm obsessed with recently* or how much I wanted to watch videos on Youtube or read through my blog. As I said I did cheat once, on the third day but overall I think I've done quite well and I find that I am getting to sleep quicker compared to when I use my digital devices before I go to sleep.
Day Three: Eat all of your meals in a different room to your digital devicesAssuming TV doesn't count then this one was very easy as I don't usually eat with my phone, iPod or iPad next to me most of the time anyway - unless there is a blogger chat on twitter and I've poorly timed my dinner! If TV does count then I've completely failed at this challenge!
Day Four: Remove email from your phoneI didn't remove it as then I'd have to remember all of my passwords again (as I have three email accounts) which is just a hassle so I added it to a folder on my iPhone and disabled notifications. This was quite difficult as usually throughout the day, whether I'm blogging, taking photos, baking, cleaning etc, I'm usually checking my emails *and social media* at least once every half and hour - unless I'm at a friends house, shopping or reading. As a blogger I do need to check my emails fairly often throughout the day as I am very lucky to get a lot of amazing opportunities with regards to my blog and I always want to reply as soon as I can. As with the challenge from Day Two, I did cheat a little bit but only for a few blog emails, oops! *hides under the desk*
Day Five: Leave your phone at home when you go out for the evening or for a walkThe aim of this challenge was to be without my phone for a minimum of three hours and although I didn't go for a walk *it's damn freezing in Manchester and I didn't want spend the next few days thawing out*, I did spend most of the day away from my phone as we finished off redecorating my office. I painted, used an electric sander *and accidentally inhaled most of the dust, I probably shouldn't be allowed to use one again* and spray painted pretty much every a copper colour. When I have physical jobs like that to do then I really don't miss being away from my phone because I'm so preoccupied - I need to do this more often, although not the sanding part...that didn't go too well and my lungs won't thank me for it either.
Day Six: Remove all social media apps from your phoneAgain, I didn't do this because I don't remember half of the passwords, so I added them to the folder with my emails and disabled notifications. The temptation to check social media and my email is so strong, I didn't think it would be quite as difficult as it has been. Although I have to admit that disabling notifications really helped, it made me stop checking my phone every five minutes so I think I will definitely disable most of my social media notifications from now on, but not twitter, I love twitter too much to do that!
Day Seven: Spend the day with loved ones without the distraction of your phoneAfter the whole week of slowly weaning myself from social media, emails and my phone in general, this last day wasn't as horrendous as I thought it would be in the beginning. Sure, I did still want to check social media, my blog and my emails but it wasn't that difficult. After an awful driving practice in which I cried for about an hour, I watched the six nations match *are rugby games called games or matches? You can tell I know everything about the sports* with my dad and set to work on my colouring book which has to be the prettiest colouring book ever!
Overall, it has been a difficult process and I did cheat a few times but on the whole I have done so much better than I thought I would - to be honest, I didn't think I'd get past day two! While I did miss social media, my emails and the internet in general, I didn't realise until now just how much of my time it consumed - without the internet for most of the days, I found myself with so much time on my hands and the days seemed so much longer. I won't be sticking to most of these challenges in the future but what I will be taking away from this experience is that disabling notifications from my phone is amazing and it stops me from checking my phone constantly, having a day without the internet is sometimes a very, very good thing and not having my digital devices near me before bed can help, to some extent, with my sleep quality. For the latter point, I will be keeping my phone, iPod and iPad in the office a couple of nights a week and who knows, it might be a permanent daily task.
For more information on digital detoxes, retreats and facts, definitely check out the Time To Log Off website.
Have you ever taken part in a digital detox? Are you a social media addict like me? Could you be without your phone for a whole day?
