This book is about curbing our screen time to free up hours of time to rediscover the things we love and to develop a healthy relationship with digital devices.
This book is for people who are frazzled and exhausted from poor sleep, losing family time to screen time, having an attention span of a goldfish, and feeling anxious when separated from their phones.
In this book, you’ll learn about:
- Setting your boundaries
- Go with the flow
- Get back to nature
- Tame your triggers
- Choose analogue
- Reconnect
Setting Boundaries:
Consider your lifestyle and decide where screens simply don’t belong.
- Wake up: When you wake up, instead of setting your alarm on your phone, try to use a real alarm clock and leave your phones outside the bedroom.
- Screen scheduling: Switch off devices at 10 PM, no email after 7 PM, screen-free or digital Sabbaths on the weekends.
- Before bed: Keep your phone outside the bedroom to prevent yourself from using it before you sleep.
- Unplugged: Try taking small walks and doing small chores without using your phone.
- Phone-free food: Leave your phone in another room and spend your time eating and relishing your food. Or spend your time with your family or friends and enjoy quality time together.
- Bathroom ban: Take a long shower with no phones.
- Track tech time: Go to settings > screen time and track the time you’re on your phone. Or put a widget of screen time on your home page.
- Put your phone in its place: Place it in a basket in your living room; you can only use your phone in this room.
Go with the Flow:
Flow occurs when you become totally absorbed in what you’re doing and your brain simply can’t be distracted. Time seems to fly by, and you even lose track of it completely.
Activities to get you into flow:
- Mindful coloring.
- Immerse yourself in a book.
- Complete a puzzle for old times' sake.
- Keep a journal and write your thoughts in it.
- Sew something; sew a sweater.
- Cook; this is a win-win—you get tech-free time and a delicious meal at the end of it.
- Move: Activities like yoga, going for a run in a park, or dancing can help you recharge your brain.
- Memorize a poem: Find a poem that appeals to you and memorize it; observe how much you can retain and how much you actually forget.
Get Back to Nature:
Spending time in natural light is key to maintaining healthy circadian rhythms in the body.
- Wander: Take a dog, friend, or just yourself for a walk.
- Plant something: Gardens are soothing spaces, and tending one is a rewarding pleasure.
- Look up: We often look down at our phones when we’re commuting; this time, observe your surroundings—the buildings and the plants—when you’re commuting to work.
- Go cloud spotting: Look at the beauty of the sky that is always above our heads. Watch the clouds drifting slowly across the sky and changing their shapes.
- Sit in a green space: Find the nearest green space and sit down on the grass. Feel the grass under your hands and feet.
- Cleanse: Find a water body and sit next to it; listen to the sound of water, the waves crashing, or a river flowing.
- Do something seasonal: Sit in a field of flowers in spring, wrap yourself in a blanket in autumn, or go bird watching in summer.
- Sleep under the stars: Grab a sleeping bag and sleep out under the canopy of stars, watching the light fade as the night passes.
Tame the Triggers:
The willpower to go digital-free is a muscle that needs exercising.
- Mute: Mute your devices; notice how peaceful your world is when technology isn’t screaming for your attention.
- Declutter your digital home: Delete the apps you haven’t used in a while, delete the emails, and clear up your memory space.
- Delay your response: It’s not mandatory to reply to your texts right away. Carve out some time in your day and reply to your texts only during that time.
- Go off the grid: Put your phone on airplane mode and use that time to focus fully on the present.
Choose Analogue:
An age-old solution can be more efficient and elegant than one that uses technology.
- Find your built-in GPS: Stop relying on your phone for maps and use your inner GPS to guide you.
- Draw a selfie: Drawing your own face helps in understanding yourself better and ignites creativity.
- Hand out some real-life likes: Smile at a stranger and make them feel happy.
- Just ask: Solve your problems by asking people instead of searching online.
Reconnect:
Disconnect from superficial online friendships and reconnect with those that matter in the real world.
- Write a postcard: Think of someone that you haven’t been in touch with; write a simple message to let them know how you are and that you’ve been thinking about them.
- Talk more: Quit texting and call people instead.
- Friend someone: Less effort leads to fewer friends as we grow older. Make a new friend and put effort into your friendships.
- Write a secret note: Write a handwritten note and put it in a place where your friend or partner might see it. It gives immense dopamine to you and your friend or partner.
- Play board games: Play board games like Ludo, UNO with your family.
- Be present: We spend more time on screens than with loved ones. Give your time and attention to them and be present with them.
Give your full attention to everyone you’re with. Put down your phone, put away your screens, and focus on the person you’re with in the moment. Be present. Don’t split your attention with the screen. Witness every relationship grow richer.
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