When Was The Last Time You Did A Digital Detox?

Unplug from the screens, and plug into yourself with a digital detox 

There are studies all over the Internet saying American adults spend an average of nine hours a day (or more) staring at screens.

You may think you spend less time than this, but if you were to sit down and really think about the time you spend watching TV, working on your computer, and scrolling away on your phone, you may be shocked at how much time you are interacting with screens. I know I was!

Nine hours a day. This much screen time is not good for any aspect of our health.

Too much screen time has many negative effects on our bodies, and has been attributed to eye strain, sleep issues, poor posture, neck pain. The list goes on and on. Excessive screen time is also hurting our relationships. Our eyes are glued to the various screens in our house so much, we’re often guilty of ignoring the human beings who are actually in our presence! And, when we’re spending hours on social media, we can start feeling crummy about ourselves when we’re seeing images of these “perfect” lives our friends appear to be leading. Not to mention all of the negativity and anger and hostility on social media these days. It’s not a great place to keep our focus.

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As professionals today, we really have no choice but to spend most of our days in front of computer screens. And when you own a business, many of us tend to continue working throughout our waking hours, checking email, social media feeds, and so on and so forth. We check our phones before we go to bed, when we get up, and many points in between.

It can all start to feel quite overwhelming.  And at times, if you’re like me, you might find yourself wishing you could just unplug for a little while, so you can have a chance to hear yourself think.

So, why don’t you? Why don’t you take a break and go offline? Switch off ALL your devices and enjoy real life for a change.

This is what is known as a digital detox, and I think we would all be better served doing this occasionally … if not on a regular basis.

All you need to do is commit to a 24-hour period with no screen time. No computers, no phones, no iPads, no television. Just time for reading, coming up with wonderful new ideas, spending time with people you love, and hearing yourself think.

I can almost hear you protest! “But, I have a business to run! I can’t just unplug!” Here’s the thing, though. Even if you don’t have a team in place to keep an eye on your business, surely you have a 24-hour window available that will allow you to go off the grid without the world coming to a crashing halt. Trust me, as much as you would like to believe there is; there is absolutely nothing you do that will cause the world to shift off its axis if you stop doing it for 24 hours. There just isn’t! Let people know ahead of time if you’re really concerned you’ll miss something. Oh, and there is this thing you may have heard of, called a telephone. Suggest people call you in case something urgent arises.

A digital detox might sound like a terribly hard thing for you to do, which is likely a sign you need one. And, who knows? Maybe some time off-screen will make you remember some parts of your life you’ve been missing.

So, I’m curious … have you ever done a digital detox? And do you think you’ll give it a try? If you do, leave a comment and let me know how it went!