Raise your hand if you’re addicted to technology.
If you didn’t raise your hand, you’re probably lying to yourself.
I’m just as addicted as any of you are. Did you know on average, Americans check their phone over 80 times per day?
80. Times.
And I would guess those of us who work in a variety of tech industries are even more addicted. After working (and continuing to work) in the social media marketing world, it’s easy to excuse a cell phone addiction as “work”, but it’s rarely actual work.
The thing is, technology is great. We can communicate all around the world with just a few clicks of a screen.
However, we can’t forget that the technology and apps that go with it are designed to keep us addicted for as long as possible.
How many times has this happened to you…
You need to check something on your phone. You open it up and see the notifications starting to pop up. Oh! Someone followed you on Instagram. Who’s that? You look. You scroll through their profile a bit. You go to your home page and tell yourself you deserve a break for “just a second”. You find some funny memes, like your friends’ pictures, and before you know it, 10 minutes has flown by. You completely forgot why you even opened your phone in the first place.
We’ve all been there. More and more often that happens to us. I opened up social media three times writing this article and I’m only at 250 words.
That’s why I’ve decided to implement internet-free days at least once a month.
My plan is to get away from my phone and my computer so I can focus on other aspects of my life that need attention.
This has always been hard to implement because I own my own business and most of my work has to do with internet marketing. Thus, needing to be attached to the internet 24/7.
However, enough is enough. I love the internet but there’s no doubt I’m addicted at this point and I want to break free from its grasp.
Most of my friends and people I know are addicted, too. When I talk to almost anyone, it’s amazing how often they will look at their phone while they talk to you.
One thing I love the most about internet-free days is the ability to think deeper about the important areas of my life. Don’t get me wrong, there’s an initial freak-out from not having a device to check every few minutes, but the benefit for your mind once you get past that is liberating.
Just two days ago I took a tech-free day and was finally able to finish this giant organizational project I’ve been putting off for YEARS. Yes, years.
Even if you do need to go online, set a timer and cut yourself off when it’s done.
Just simply not checking my work emails 24/7 has been extremely liberating.
During your internet-free day, when you feel the urge to check your devices, just ask yourself, “Is anything on my phone/computer better than focused time devoted to my highest purpose? Is Twitter better than accomplishing my goals? Do I really need to see the latest news?”
You’ll find that rarely is anything on your phone better than focused, deep time spent on something else.
If there’s something you’re dying to check, make a list of the things that actually bring you value and allow yourself to check them the next day you’re online.
There are a few accounts I follow, emails I receive, and sites I check that are extremely valuable to my life and success. However, I don’t need to check them as soon as they come to me. I can check them the next time I’m on.
Take a day off and see how much you can get done.
You’ll be happy you did.
Project Revival Year 