Healthy Living: How to Have A Digital Detox in Less Than 10 Minutes

With several new gadgets and applications cropping up everyday, it’s hard to imagine a life without technology nowadays.

It can help you connect with more people, but it can also create occasional bouts of undue stress.

Imagine being glued to the laptop and smartphone for most of the day- that can seriously take a toll on your health and lifestyle and relationships.

Technology can be an addiction. It’s hard to turn off your phone or stop checking messages, which adds even more stress.

It is literally impossible to function without the aid of technology; we’ve become heavily dependent on it. But perhaps a ‘digital detox’ could be the solution to unhealthy amounts of stress emanating from excessive tech use.

Wikipedia refers to digital detox as “ a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic connecting devices such as smartphones and computers.

It is regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress, focus more on social interaction and connection with nature in the physical world. Claimed benefits include increased mindfulness, lowered anxiety, and an overall better appreciation of one’s environment.”

How To Go About A Digital Detox?? Watch out for stress triggers.

The first step is to acknowledge that you’re involved way more with technology in a way that’s actually counterproductive.

Pay attention to your stress triggers when you’re using technology.

Are you overcome with negative emotions or stress every time you check an e-mail or text message ? Do you think you’re missing out on social media updates?

Monitoring your technology-dependence.

Keep a record of devices and apps and websites that you visit.

Write down every piece of technology you use, including and other tracking tools. It’s important for the list to be accurate and complete.

A bit of journaling here can help, too. Write down how you feel after each interaction with a piece of technology. Does it make you feel stressed, frustrated, sad, or annoyed? Make a note of the amount of stress each device creates in your life.

After you’ve drawn up a list, you can see for yourself which tools are the ones you need to use and which ones may be discarded.

Inbox Zero

Well, don’t delete your important e-mails!!!

The idea is inbox optimization here. And for that matter, social accounts, too. Go through all of your social media accounts and inboxes to delete unnecessary e-mails and contacts from your lists.

Try to keep a smaller list of close contacts such as friends, coworkers, and family and business contacts.

Turn off notifications and get rid of unnecessary subscriptions.

Consider setting up automated apps that can sort emails and delete them faster. Some of the popular email management apps are:

Sane Box

Unroll.me

Active Inbox

Use productivity tools and apps to plan.

Have a plan each time you turn on a computer or phone. What do you want to accomplish, and how long will you need to do it?

Try to avoid distractions by planning your time. There are a lot of productivity tools like Rescue Time, Toogl to track the time spent on each website.

Turn off and put away any devices that aren’t essential. Include time away from technology, such as a weekend without tech or TV. Slow down gradually.

If you’re addicted to checking your messages every hour, it will take more time to reduce tech-based stress.

Tell your family and friends so as to make them understand that you’ll be available less on social media. They also need to respect that you’re turning off some notifications to reduce stress.

Set up vacation or ‘Away’ messages on your phone and email, so others will know when they can reach you. Create specific windows of time to return calls or messages.

While it is not possible to stay away entirely from technology(it makes life easy, after all!), you can certainly use it wisely to avoid the negatives.

Pay attention to how technology affects you. Evaluate how much you depend on technology and adjust daily routines with these tips and tools to reduce your stress.

With inputs from the Internet and print sources Like what you read? Get free e-mail updates delivered to your inbox!

Originally published at http://primrosereflect.wordpress.com on May 16, 2019.