Just as we have a drug detox or a complete alcohol detox, the modern era has brought in the digital detox. If you have been ruining your health by the excessive use of gadgets and technology then you might be the victim of digital addiction. The long hours that we spend using the phone, I-pad and desktop all take a toll on our physical and mental wellbeing. How often have we suffered from severe neck pain after sitting on the system for hours? So if you want to cease being the victim, it’s time for you to go in for a digital detox. Basically you are to spend less time using digital appliances and gadgets.
So here are some tips to help you in a digital detox:
- Try and switch off your devices for short periods of time in a day. You can start with the easiest times of the day that is when you are in the shower and meal times and gradually move on to the times when you are most active on these devices.
- Turn off the push notifications on your phone. Instead opt to view the status of your email and other applications as and when it’s really urgent or required. Question yourself whether you really need to be notified every second of the day.
- Unsubscribe from mailing lists; delete friends from your Facebook and other social networking sites who you never bother to stay in touch with.
- Delete applications that you never use. Clear your desktops, both of your phone and your computers. Deleted unread mails from your inboxes that you will never ever read.
- Spend more time outdoors so that you know what you’re missing out when you’re glued to your devices.
- Switch off your broadband when you don’t need it. It prevents you from getting onto the internet for no reason.
- Keep your phone charger at home so that you learn to limit the use of your phone applications and get through the day with just that one time charge.
- When out with family, keep your devices away. Give them your full attention. They will certainly appreciate it and it also keeps away the unwanted interruptions like a beep of a message or a call.
- Set yourself only a fixed number of hours in a day when you can look into your devices.
- Take control of the privacy setting on all the social networking websites. You get to decide what each person you know gets to see. It is for you to prioritize and take control of what everyone gets to know about you and see about you on a daily basis.
Once you do the digital detox you will learn to appreciate the life outside the digital world. Your cellphone is not the palm of your hand. So learn to live without it.
