How to do a Digital Detox Without Putting Down Your Phone

It’s no surprise that during the current pandemic we’re relying on our tech a lot more. We’re refreshing the news obsessively, we’re taking our meetings and socialisation online and, let’s be honest, we’re just plain bored and spending just a little too long playing Animal Farm. This article isn’t here to tell you to stop, we’re just here to help you do it a little bit more mindfully.

1. Take an audit of your friends and followers

Did you know Instagram now has a super easy feature that lets you remove people from following you? It’s a great little tool to give you some piece of mind so that the people you want to remove are not only gone from your own line of vision, but that you are out of theirs.

2. Remove unneeded pressure

It’s old news that social media can make us feel worse about our own lives. But even if we know it’s not real, it can be hard sometimes not to make those comparisons to your own life. Now more than ever, people are showing off. It might be their little piece of paradise in their backyard, their trivia night on Zoom with about a hundred friends, or maybe even their daily work out. Whatever it is, it’s probably not making you feel great and is just putting pressure on you to do more. Mute these for a while if it’s just not your jam.

3. Don’t fall into the trap of paying for upgrades

You’re really bored. We get it. You’ve started playing those games that your nieces and nephews were obsessed with two Christmases ago. You’re playing them every day, maybe even checking them on the hour. (I just stopped writing to check on my Roller Coaster Tycoon income). You’ll earn enough coins or whatever you need this way. Try not to fall into the trap of paying for upgrades to make your game go faster, you’ll regret it later on.

4. Pick your news sources and read them sparingly

We’re overwhelmed with headlines. There’s also a lot of hyped up media fanfare and overzealous tales of woe starting to creep in. There is also so much real tragedy happening right now. There are so many statistics. There is so much fear. Pick your sources and allocate your time to check them. Consciously choose what to skip over, and don’t fall too far into the rabbit hole.

5. Clear your phone, clear your head

Take some time to uninstall unused apps, delete those fuzzy photos and clean up your contact list. A clearer phone will help you clear your mind.