Weekends are always a great opportunity to practice some mindfulness around how we use technology. People often ask us for easy tips on unplugging, so we listed are few mini challenges you can try over the weekend. Some of you will find these super easy (“I do this all the time anyway!”), and others will struggle to remember the age before smartphones, when these challenges were non-issues.
In any case, we hope you’ll join us. Ready? Set? Unplug!
1. Temporarily delete your top three most-used apps on your phone, and go the whole weekend without them. For me, that would be Facebook, Spotify, and Instagram. Don’t worry – you can reinstall them on Sunday night!
2. Eat a meal alone – and that means completely alone, without checking your devices once.
3. Do something outrageously fun with friends or family, and resist the urge to document it with photos or status updates.
4. Leave your phone and tablet in another room before going to bed, and see if you can make it past breakfast the next day without checking them.
5. Take a chance and eat at a new restaurant you haven’t Yelped or looked up online. Form your own opinions completely independent of strangers’ reviews.
6. You know that friend you’ve been meaning to text or message back? Pick up the phone to catch up instead.
7. Memorize driving directions to an unfamiliar place before hopping in the car, instead of relying on your GPS or navigation app. You might get a little lost, but I’m sure you’ll find your way!
8. If you’re feeling ambitious, go a full day (or full weekend) unplugged – with your laptop and devices powered off. This includes your TV!
9. Let your red Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram notifications accumulate. Though they’ll beg for your attention, don’t click to check them until the end of the weekend.
10. Push yourself to spend idle waiting time – in line at the store, at a stoplight, during a commercial – brainstorming ideas for work or your next passion project, instead of checking your phone.
How many mini-challenges did you attempt? How many do you already do regularly? Tell us in the comments below!
Posted on 2/21/2014
Written by Ashmi Pathela
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