The last 60-90 days have been quite the roller coaster thanks to the whole Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses locked their doors. People were issued stay-at-home orders. Extroverts were forced to live like an introvert. About the only ways people could socialize was through social media or through video chats.
I’m not happy to admit that I spent what I would consider too much time scrolling around on social media. Now, I’m not the type to comment or say a lot on there anyway, but I did spend a little extra time than normal scrolling through people watching. (Yes, I know that sounds borderline creepy.)
As I was noticing this about my change in habits, I decided what I need is a digital detox. So, for the next 30 or so days, I’m going to step away from social media and some news sites. Anything that I do share will be done so automatically, or because I saw an article from a self-approved news site and sent it to Twitter in order to come back to when I’ve completed my digital detox.
So, by now, I’m sure you’re wondering how I’ll spend my newly found time? Here are the four things I’ll be shifting my time to:
- Reading
- Writing
- Art
- Self
Reading
I already spend a bit of my time reading, however, I’ve noticed myself reaching for my phone more and more rather than a book. As a way to make myself more accountable, my wife and I have decided to read and discuss a book together. We’ve done this in the past, and we really enjoyed it. This time we’ll be reading 10% Happier by Dan Harris. We’ve had these sitting on our shelf for a few months now, and what better way to spend your digital detox than reading about how to reduce stress?
Writing
About a month ago, I started a writing project that I would really like to see through to the end. Every writing project I’ve ever started, I ran into a snag or something else got in the way and I either got bored with it or completely trashed it. I really would like to finish this one. I’ve made it further with this one so far than I have with any of the other ones. So, I’m going to really try and spend 5 minutes at a minimum on it daily.
Art
There are some mediums out there that I’ve just never quite been comfortable with or that I’ve wanted to try out to see what they do. So, I picked up a few things at the art store to kickstart my curiosity. Maybe, when I’ve completed my digital detox, I’ll share some of what I “created”.
Self
This is the biggest area I’m going to spend my time on. I noticed that I’ve been just going through motions lately on some things without really being aware. This is probably the single biggest reason for doing this digital detox! I need to spend some quality time healing my body and clearing my mind. To do so, I’m going to shift my focus in the gym to that of recovery movements. I’m going to spend a little time doing yoga. Lastly, one of the things I really want to do is spend time each day in meditation.
So, there it is. My blueprint for a digital detox over the next 30 or so days.
Oh, and one last thing: I’m going to try and get better at journaling and posting on a more frequent basis.