3 Simple Ways to Disconnect from Technology to Be More Present Today
3 Simple Ways to Disconnect from Technology to Be More Present Today
We’ve all fallen victim to getting lost in the online world, whether it’s wasting hours in a scroll hole on a social media feed, texting a friend all day while shirking responsibilities or constantly answering work emails from your smartphone while ignoring your family. Disappearing into cyberspace allows us to create our own world that serves as an escape from reality; and, because it’s a world that lets us constantly feel busy, distracted, and important, it can be tough to prioritize real life.
1) Delete Your Social Media Apps
If you compulsively check your social media apps throughout the day, try wiping them from your phone, even if only for a 30-day cleansing period. Forcing yourself to use a standard computer to access your social media profiles will help you break the knee-jerk reaction to check them each time you reach for your phone. During this time, notice how your feelings about your surroundings, your experiences and yourself begin to change. Notice your sense of focus, connection with the world around you, and connection with yourself increase. If later you feel ready to bring back your apps, you may find them less enticing since you’ve restored your appreciation for yourself and the world around you.
2) Keep Your Phone in One Designated Place While at Home
Instead of carrying your phone everywhere while trying to bond with family at home, keep it in one place with the ringer on and notifications off. This way, you’ll have more control over when the outside world can interrupt your time at home with your family. You’ll find, when the cyber world is out of sight, it’s easier to keep it out of mind.
3) Start Your Day Without Checking Your Phone
Rolling over to grab your phone first thing in the morning increases your chances of starting the day off on the wrong foot. The flood of notifications can plague you with stress and anxiety before you’ve even had your coffee… or morning i-thrive. Instead of starting your day distracted and overwhelmed, create a morning routine that doesn’t involve your phone. Try a morning meditation to feel grounded and centered and you’ll find you experience more peace throughout the day.
Our devices can control our emotions, driving anxiety, sadness, envy, and guilt. Social media encourages us to compare ourselves with our friends or strangers, often without even realizing we are doing so, creating a constant dissatisfaction with our own lives and making us a stranger to gratitude. Instead of focusing on what we have, we find ourselves victimized by what we don’t have. Making some simple modifications to how we use technology can help improve our perception of reality and ourselves, so we can focus on what’s beautiful in our world and immerse ourselves in being part of it.