Now more than ever we are spending a ton of time online and in front of a screen. Zoom meeting for this, Facebook Live for that. We're online shopping more, most of us even shopping for our groceries online. Our world has been completely flipped upside-down and although we weren't good about our digital consumption before, we're even worse, no thanks to Covid-19 (aka coronavirus).
I'd like to purpose a digital detox. Why? Simple put a digital detox can help you in a plethora of other areas in your life. Strengthen your relationships, get a better night sleep, increase your productivity and honestly you can easily feel happier and bring more joy into your life. Below you will find six ways to help you take a digital detox, but before I, of course, want to share a quick-n-easy way to detox your phone too.
Most of us know that our phones are super grody. I heard on the newer ABC TV show Don't that cell phones carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats. Ewe! Bottom line is that our cell phones are disgusting and germ infested, so I want to provide you with a hack to clean and detox your phone too. I personally use doTERRA Lemon essential oil internally every day to help my body gently detox. Lemon is such an awesome versatile oil and it's extremely affordable (yes, even for the "good stuff"). So, simply apply a couple drops of Lemon essential oil to a microfiber cloth or cotton swap and wipe down your ENTIRE phone. Not only will this make it nice and shiny, but it will help kill the germies too*. Another great essential oil you can use to clean your cell phone ickies is doTERRA On Guard. This is the protective blend and fantastic for helping to boost our immune system*. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Instead of binge watching the newest show you're into, bring some strategy, fun, laughter, and dare I say, healthy competition into your life and have a game night with your family or a few close friends. I was recently introduced to a version of Golf (or Crazy 9's) card game - you have to get the lowest score to win. Made it super easy to "pitch" to my hubby who's a golf lover. A few other favorites of my 3-person family are LCR (stands for Left Center Right) a dice game, Phase 10 card game, and Tenzi a dice game. *Side note and not exactly inline with the theme of this piece, but I'll tell you at the beginning of the Covid lock down frequently on Friday nights my son and I would get on Zoom to play marbles with my parents who live just about 20 minutes away. Now, I realize that's not a clean digital detox, but sometimes you have to get creative with technology too.
One of the best things we can do right now is get out into nature, enjoy soaking in some good ol' vitamin D and if you have the opportunity to take off your shoes and actually get your feet on the ground that's even better. I've heard it from several different resources that 20 minutes of sunshine without sunblock is the best. One of the reasons is because vitamin D converts to energy and is actually one of the best natural solution tips I can give you for boosting your immunity. One of my dear friends has been incorporating sunrise hikes into her weekly routine. She's been traveling all around Colorado hiking in new spots. It's super inspiring and what a cool way to see different parts of where you live - go exploring, have fun and aside from taking that gorgeous picture turn off your phone, the mama bear in me says you should have it with you in case of an emergency though. Wink.
Food, oh, how I love food! Sharing a meal with friends and keeping that device at bay so you can be fully in the moment is an awesome way to enjoy a digital detox. If you're a foodie, like me, and enjoy sharing pictures of the food you're partaking in, then give yourself permission to snap a few pictures, but otherwise your phone should be turned off. Okay!? I see you rolling your eyes at me! Either because you can't stand people who constantly share food pics or because a part of you is dying inside at the thought of actually holding conversation with people. Yep, that is my challenge to you though. Actually engage, show interest, talk, listen, ask questions and fully appreciate being with your people. Pro Tip: chose to enjoy that lovely homemade or delivered meal with people you actually like. Tee-hee!
Are you a reader? How about joining a book club or starting your own? I think most book clubs meet once a month, so this one is mostly a solo act, but imagine setting yourself up for success in the digital detox arena because you'll spend hours upon hours of tech-free entertainment.
Cool thing is your group can meet outside in a park or in someone's backyard to take advantage of nature too. I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not a big reader. I much prefer listening to an audiobook. I feel more accomplished this way. When I have to drive, be it to my son's lacrosse practice, to the grocery store or going to meet someone I listen to an audiobook over music. Again I'm breaking the rules of a complete digital detox, but I'm not looking at the screen, I'm merely creatively using technology to aid me in my personal development. I'm currently listening to Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. If you're not in a leadership position then the I highly recommend Daring Greatly or Rising Strong.
If your goal is to deeply connect with other without technology then have I got an old school trick for you. A classic, but something that's not done much anymore...hand write a note or card. Mind blown, I know! Seriously though a handwritten note is a great way to demonstrate how much you care about someone. Taking the time to connect with them and put pen to paper is a telling action. Another suggestion in putting pen to paper is to journal. This doesn't need to be a diary about your day, though good on you if you're into that kind of thing. These days I'm into writing down my goals, dreams, intentions and gratitude. The format I really like is found in the Start Today Journal by Rachel Hollis. You may be lucky to find one at Target, but if you're okay using a notebook, check out the blog post I did, Practices for Positive Pursuits, where I share the format (it's at the bottom of the post). I like simple-n-easy and this takes me 5 minutes or less each morning.
The last one is really the only one that can cost you some coin - home improvements. Doing a home improvement project especially while we're stuck at home through this cronavirus pandemic is a great way to cut technology out of the picture for a while. They don't have to be massive projects are clean out your bank account either. Do you have some doors that need retouched? Have you been meaning to clean up the storage room? Does your yard need a little TLC? These can be solo acts or you can gather your family together to all pitch in. Either way you'll feel great about the space, it will boost the joy you have for your home and will keep you away from that pesky phone.
The Wellness spOILed community is here to help support you! Natural solutions can be found all around us and that's what we want to help you unveil. We want to met you where you're at in not just your essential oil journey, but our goal is to provide wellness solutions for all areas of your life. Reach out any time for anything!
xoDanette