Our brain goes into anxiety panic once we accidentally leave our smartphone at home or in the car. What we constantly do is check for any new texts, emails, voice messages, any updates on social media wherever we are, including the bathroom and meetings.
Modern day technology is supposed to make life easier for us, but is actually contributing to our stress, as the anxiety bleeds through and then causes toxic buildup in the brain, which places strain on our relationships and the family structure.
Clinically, it’s now reached certain mental disorder states, which contributes to health issues. So forget a body detox, your biggest ailment is you now need a technology detox, a break from everything tech.
The more that we get hooked, the more difficult it becomes to break away. Technology detox is also referred to as information addiction overload, and the cure is to just step away, this by giving yourself a break. You will survive.
Alternatives To A High Tech Detox
This tech detox shouldn’t be different from any other detox, it needs a specific plan and goals. You need to be concise about why you’re wanting to do the detox.
Begin by writing down your goals, and then shorten them so you can easily memorize them by creating phrases that you can repeat back to yourself, this whenever you begin to stray, or once the going gets tough, and you’re tempted to go back on Facebook to find out what’s up.
Set Your Tech Detox Rules And Keep Them
This by developing a specific plan, develop the parameters of your detox plan. Decide you won’t check your emails or texts after work when at home, specify the exact times that you can check them.
Be exact on these parameters, then you can’t cheat. Be disciplined enough not to break them. Begin with a few rules, follow them, and then they’ll eventually become a habit.
Realize the consequences ahead of time. You never want to cheat, but eventually may at some point. When planning your detox, leave room for failure.
No one’s perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself, give yourself a break. Just make sure that you’re on the right path, on the skinny when cutting down on your technology obsession.
The Tech Detox Plan
Technology is an ever insistent part of our lives, so decide which parts you’re willing to give up, and why, and for how long. This can’t be done haphazardly, as you’ll just revert back to old your habits.
So have intention, proceed with eyes wide open while monitoring your response and reaction once you deprive yourself digitally. Develop a simple plan, and then stick to it, as anxiety can overturn your best efforts.
Taking Baby Steps
Go on a digital fast, a tech detox, a cyber overload diet, although you make initially cringe at the concept, thinking you’ll never survive, that you’ll begin to shiver while sitting in the corner of a room.
This feeling can be the equivalent of stop eating doughnuts, while being forced to eat tofu until you become nauseous. But relax, most body detoxes generally don’t work, and it’s doubtful that a sudden technology detox will either. So instead, start slow.
For instance, it’s movie night, or it’s your kids’ soccer game, so leave your smartphone in the car. Then try spending the next few hours without getting tied down to technology, relax and try to enjoy.
If you need to check your email every 10 minutes, don’t, it won’t delete itself. Train your mind to check less frequently, like once an hour. Start small, and enjoy these tiny victories.
Replacing The Void
Whenever you decide to stop doing something, you create a void, especially if you enjoy doing it. What you were doing filled some type of need, and going cold turkey will just cause that action to resurface.
So you need to somehow fill that void with something else, otherwise it will become a black hole. So become proactive, replace that emptiness with something that’s healthy, positive, and uplifting.
For instance, if you’re wanting to reduce the time you spend on Facebook, arrange to meet a real friend in person for coffee, and have an actual conversation with them, having the agreement that technology won’t interfere.
Fill that time at the gym, go for a jog, take your dog to the park, paint that room, renovate the kitchen, clean out the garage, distract your mind from anything that’s digital.
Build On What You’ve Learned
The goal should never be to just see how long you can do something, knowing that you will eventually revert back to that previous habit. A goal of any detox is to stabilize yourself to the point that you’re able to actually live without something.
This shouldn’t be your only goal however. You should attempt to use a technology detox so you can learn more about yourself, while realizing how you interact with technology in all areas of your life.
Know how it affects you emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually. Make sure that you pay attention to all of these areas during your tech detox, then you’ll learn how technology can be useful to you in these area, or how it can be harmful to you.
Taking The Next Step
Realize what you’ve learned about yourself and how you abuse technology, then establish new boundaries. Whenever you’re confronted with something that’s new, move from knowledge to application.
Knowledge isn’t enough to modify behavior, as you need to apply what you’ve learned to change its patterns. Learning is growing and once you stop, what you get is atrophy.
So take what you’ve learned and continue to grow, move towards positive healthy integration. Technology is forever changing and you need to remain flexible without it controlling you ever again.