What is a digital detox? The term was coined by founders of Digital Detox company that address the impact of tech dependency with camps, research, and educational programs (10). In Oxford Dictionaries definition, a digital detox is defined as a “period of time during which a person refrains from using their electronic devices, such as smartphones, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world” (11). In other words, it’s time we live without digital devices to rejuvenate and cleanse our minds. Conditions, such as the time and used apps, are various and depend on particular needs and expectations. Because we differ among ourselves, there is no single successful recipe. However, I want to share a few strategies to use as inspiration to find your way.
Know your habits
A successful digital detox should be tailored to your needs. Otherwise, you’ll waste your time since you won’t resolve your main concerns. To identify your goals, start by observing your daily digital habits. Here is a list of questions you can ask yourself:
What is your favorite time to use digital devices – morning, evening, or lunchtime?
How much time do you spend on digital devices daily?
What places (your bedroom, office, bus) do you most often use digital devices?
Does your use of digital media depend on specific situations? (f.e. checking your phone in stressful social situations to calm yourself down)
Do you enjoy doomscrolling when you’re tired?
Which devices are the most time-consuming?
What apps take up the most of your time? Is it worth your time?
It’s just a starter pack that you can expand further, but it’s enough to identify your essential digital habits. You can also help yourself with tracking apps, such as RescueTime (activity tracker) or Space (screen time tracker).
Choose your time
Here are three digital time management strategies that may inspire you.
The first one is total: the whole day without digital devices. Basically, the idea is to clear your mind by avoiding technology for 24 hours. Depending on your needs and conditions, you can use it as weekly Sunday practice or plan it once a month. From my experience, this is the perfect chance to identify how technology fills our lives because when we avoid it, we realize when we miss it the most. In my opinion, it’s a great idea to try it at least once. As a result of my 24-hour detox, I gained free time and a peaceful mind afterward.
Experience of a 24-hour detox gives insight into everyday life but doesn’t change it.
Indeed, the study of Peter Frost and colleagues showed that the effect is transitory: the difference in critical thinking between higher and lower users of smartphones disappeared after four weeks (12). That means it may be better to include technology-free time as a daily habit instead of doing it one week once a year. Therefore, consider taking even an hour of a digital break a day. I may be just right after waking up or before going to bed. If you tend to dive into social media when you come back tired from work, maybe the afternoon would be the perfect time for you?
Another idea is to schedule a time when you use your digital devices instead of planning when you skip them. I can’t recommend it because I haven’t tested it yet; however, it sounds worth trying.
Identify your time-wasters
Let me be clear – digital devices are not entirely wrong. Many practical applications simplify our daily lives or allow us to stay connected with our close ones. Also, sometimes turning off the mobile phone is too much. So instead of cutting off all apps at once, you can just block those which are your time-wasters.
For example, if you scroll Reddit instead of writing an essay, a website blocker (f.e. Freedom) would be helpful. If you watch TikTok instead of learning new words in a foreign language, consider apps like InsightTimer, which block your smartphone. Find out which app makes you the most inefficient and assess the solution.
Plan your alternatives
In the words of Aristotle, Nature abhors a vacuum. Without a plan for your digital break, you run the risk of failure. Your digital detox can become a stressful battle, and you may not want to do it again. Therefore, don’t overlook planning alternatives. You can read a book, go for a walk in the forest or try a new recipe. Choose any activity you are passionate about, so you will feel immersed, and you won’t even think about your smartphone. At the same time, tidying your room isn’t recommended unless you’re a clean freak.
Digital devices are not purely evil things. They are designed to provide information, entertain us, and stay in touch with loved ones despite the distance. Our fast-paced world requires quick answers to our questions. Relationships are important, and no digital detox is worth putting people out of our lives. Therefore, we don’t need to reject the benefits of digital devices.
The point is not to throw your smartphone away and never touch it again.
At the same time, we don’t want to lose our analytic skills, performance, and deep thinking abilities. We want to keep focused, solve problems by ourselves and keep control of our lives.
So the point is to maintain control over digital devices as well.
