My husband and daughter started their vacation in our second home country more than a month before my son and I did. I had a rare opportunity, a gift of time, to self-examine and do some decluttering (my favorite thing to do!).
So, I decided to take a Digital Detox for the month of November. This was the plan I wrote down word by word, and I followed it, I would say, 90% of the time and largely kept at it to this day.
I am leaving it here to refer to later, possibly to link back to it from another article.
Detox Rules
Charge the phone away from bed at night - don't look at it at night/morning/bathroom.
Don’t have the phone with me when I am reading/watching TV - pretend it doesn't exist.
Watch TV only with Benjamin - when he is not watching, don't watch TV (except for finishing my two shows, don’t start anything new).
Don’t read Substacks or sign up for ANY new newsletters.
Don’t read the articles I saved in Reader - just leave them be for a while.
No social media of any kind, including Reddit for anything - make do without (Messenger, Whatsapp, Viber are ok).
Declutter my Kindle and don’t read 10 books simultaneously - focus on 2-3 books, 1 fiction, 2 non-fiction.
LinkedIn at work ONLY.
Stop searching for every thought, and interest online right away.
Do - “daily reviews of all things” in my journal - write it by hand in my paper journal, not in Obsidian.
What to Do Instead
Sedentary
Work on assignments (finish the two assignments).
Read paper books.
Daily reviews of all things in a journal (Dale Carnegie) - write it by hand in a notebook.
Finish the courses I marked for learning.
Write (edit my novel or articles).
On Kindle - read only 2-3 books simultaneously, 1 fiction/2 non-fiction.
Spend time doing my life review and capture goals for 2024 in Projects in Notion.
Update my “5-Year Plan”.
Sort out photographs.
Reach out to friends and send personal messages.
Physical
Do yoga mindfully - longer practices with focus.
Go for a walk.
Walk by the beach.
Go to op shops.
Go to a café.
Sort out/declutter clothes and things.
Do some light gardening.
Cook/bake - yes, really.