Unplugging from my phone and computer

A week and a half ago, I gave myself a birthday gift. I decided to take that Friday (my actual birthday) off and unplug from my phone and computer for the entire weekend. Last year on the podcast, I mentioned how I sometimes feel tethered to my devices. This includes email, text messages, and social media. I felt like I needed to “detox” and really be present with myself and my family over the weekend.

I set some ground rules. First, I let certain people know that I was doing this and that if they texted or call, I wouldn’t get back to them until the following week. I also posted a Facebook message. Second, for emergencies, I do have a landline that I hardly use. I made sure the important people in my life had that in case they needed to reach me in an emergency. Third, since I run a?Poshmark business, I couldn’t completely shut off so I designated two periods per day; one in late afternoon and one in the evening to turn on my phone and check Poshmark. I set the rule that I could only turn on my phone for 5 minutes to check Poshmark and any emergency phone calls that happen to come in (thankfully, none did). I didn’t allow myself to check texts or social media. I even turned off notifications beforehand so I wouldn’t be tempted.

The first day was tough. I felt the “itch” of not checking my phone. The second day got easier and by Sunday, I was feeling more relaxed, centered, and present. I really enjoyed the electronic vacation.

While I can’t do this all the time, the weekend allowed me to rethink how I use my devices. Going forward, I’m going to try to limit my time on them. I’m going to leave the text message and social media notifications off and only check them once or twice a day. Since email is more important, I will check that two or three times a day. Poshmark, I’ll be on more regularly but overall, I hope to be less tethered to my phone and more plugged into life.

We’ll see how it goes and I’ll keep you posted. For now, this was a great birthday gift.

John

John's coloring book,?Corporate Cliches,?is available for sale on?Amazon?and?Barnes & Noble online.

Moving Forward?277?is available on all major podcast outlets.

John Lim (Twitter:?@bemovingforward) is a?TEDx speaker, author, and Poshmark ambassador. His articles on Cobra Kai:?How Cobra Kai is kicking butt at storytelling, marketing, and business?(2018) and?Why 'Cobra Kai's' move to Netflix is the perfect sequel?(2020) are his most read on LinkedIn to date. John has been featured in?Cracked.com,?Authority Magazine, and Inc. John currently hosts the?Moving Forward?podcast. He is the creator of the?Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book, available now on Amazon.