Here I am sitting at my desk, drinking my coffee, with my space heater buzzing right beneath my feet. The first few lines of my write-something-every-day challenge are usually just for me to ramble and procrastinate...so I guess I'll wrap up this portion of the blog post now and get to the good stuff.
Here we go...
what do I want to write about today? What moments in the past couple days have reconnected me to the moment, made me feel more grounded, more connected?
60 min tech break - let's try this one out. It did really help make me feel more in tune with myself/my surroundings.
Taking A Tech Break
It feels like I'm constantly plugged into my phone or computer - whether I'm drawing on my iPad, scrolling through Instagram, or going through my inbox, it's hard to get away from all my gadgets for long periods of time.
There's this intense pull towards screens and notifications. It's no secret that many of the apps we have on our phones are specifically designed to keep us hooked, even if the science also shows that we feel worse the more we scroll.
We, of course, have to be plugged in to some degree in order to stay connected and for many small businesses, like me we feel intense pressure to be posting all the time, creating new content, and interacting with followers in order to stay relevant.
But it's a love/hate relationship and many of us feel like we don't want to be plugged in all the time, but we also don't have a choice.
I've been challenging that idea the past couple weeks by trying to take a tech break at least once a week for 1 hour at a time. It's really hard at first - I can feel certain parts coming up saying, what if so-and-so calls us? Or what if we miss an important text or email?? Or what if we get bored??? It takes a moment or two for those parts to calm down and realize it's okay - that we can come back to our devices after an hour and that 9/10 times we haven't missed anything important.
Logging off and hiding my devices for an hour challenges my brain to find new things to do like tidying up, reading a book, or moving my body. It gives my brain more space to think, ponder, and explore.
It allows me to connect my inner wisdom and creativity by setting aside time that's just for me - I get to do whatever I want during this time!
So far I've spent these tech breaks doing yoga, dancing around my living room to my favorite music (okay this might count as tech, but I think we get a pass for music!), playing the piano, reading from my stack of half-way-finished books, singing, doing dishes, tidying up, watering plants, and walking.
What I've found most interesting is that when my 60 minute timer goes off, I usually end up spending more time away from my devices, which tells me it's time well spent.
Someday I might try to incorporate a full hour out of every day to be tech-free. Or maybe I'll do one whole day tech-free, like I've heard other people do.
What would an hour free of tech look like for you? How could it connect you to the moment, to yourself, to nature, and maybe to others?