The Importance of Disconnecting
So… Alex and I have been in Mexico for the past 5 days. I fully intended to share some Instagrams from the beach and snap some pictures of the delicious food here but I decided to just disconnect. I brought my computer, thinking that I would just hop on occasionally to read a few blogs and see what was going on in the land of the internet. But once we got to the resort, we tossed our phones in the safe and gave up on trying to connect to the wifi and it was awesome.
Truthfully, it was sort of weird knowing that no one could get in touch with us for 5 days and there was a small part of me wondering “What if someone texts me and they don’t know I’m on vacation?” but that part quickly faded and I just enjoyed our vacation. I thought a lot about relaxing and disconnecting and what all of that means. While this little “digital detox” was nice, I wanted to think about how I could bring some of this back home with me in a practical way. I don’t plan on cutting the internet cord completely, but I think there are a few things that could help me restore a little balance.
1. It’s ok to just be still. I can stop taking my phone everywhere. It’s my crutch. My way to kill time when I’m waiting for something. My way to feel like I’m connected to everything. It’s tool for distracting myself when I don’t want to get something done. And that’s… not totally healthy. It was amazing how much clearer my thoughts seemed when I wasn’t checking a screen every 10 seconds. (At first, it felt like torture. What am I supposed to do when Alex goes to the bathroom and I’m just sitting at the table? Don’t worry, you get used to it.)
2. The Do Not Disturb feature isn’t just for sleeping. If you’re not already using this feature on your phone TRY IT. (On an iphone, swipe up to bring up that menu where you turn on and off your wifi and click on that little moon icon.) Not only does it turn off the sound of notifications but it turns off the screen too. No more flashing screen every 10 seconds when someone repins your pin or likes your Instagram photo. It makes it much easier to break the habit of checking the screen constantly.
3. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Have you ever spent an hour on Facebook and by the end you’re not even really enjoying it and you realize you just wasted an hour of your REAL LIFE looking at photos online? (Mom & Dad, I know you don’t have Facebook, but trust me. This is a real thing that people do.) But after a few days of being off the grid, it’s kind of fun to come back and scroll through your feed and see what people have been up to. I can catch up on what my good friends are doing without wondering how I ended up on my friend’s, cousin’s, boyfriend’s band’s Facebook page.
So while I’m back, I think I’m going to try to carry this vacation mentality with me a little longer. 😉
I couldn’t agree more! I try to have one disconnected day per week to keep me sane! 🙂
That’s a smart way to balance it out!
Totally agree with this. When I went to Bermuda last month with my boyfriend I planned to totally disconnect. No one could reach me and I was fine with that. I actually realized just how much time there is in the day and enjoyed reading rather than wasting time on facebook. I definitely need to balance it more in my day to day life.
Yes! It definitely makes me realize how much time there is in the day!
I think disconnecting is so important in this day and age. As bloggers and people we are so connected all of the time. It’s always nice to just get away.
I actually love disconnecting for a little while. Like on the weekends, I try not to go on Facebook. It’s nice to not be constantly informed about what is going on in people’s lives. Plus, it gives us something to talk about when we meet up in real life!
I disconnect every time I go for a run, and it is awesome. Lately I’ve been experimenting with not using my phone, for example, in airports or when I’ve been traveling and there is no free wifi. I keep thinking I can strike up conversations with strangers. I am surprised it’s happened a few times – I’d say 75% of the time, I look around and EVERYONE ELSE is on their phones ignoring the other people.
Haha that’s a cool idea! I bet you can meet some interesting people in places like that! Such a great reminder that I shouldn’t stay buried in my phone!
Disconnecting feels weird yet oddly refreshing! I hardly do it (not good, I know), but when I do, I feel like a new person! Haha. Can’t wait to read about your trip!
What. a. coincidence. Your post is the second addressing this topic I’m reading today – after an unplanned four-day break from the internet. Due to whichever reasons both our internet and phone connection stopped working on Tuesday and it only started functioning again a few hours ago. At first, I was mad about it because it wasn’t an intentional break but looking back now I can see I suddenly got so much more done. It also made me realize just how much time I actually spend clicking around mindlessly. And yes, it’s a loss of actual lifetime …
Like you, I’m not sure how to work these kind of breaks into daily life but definitely want/need to.
That’s so crazy! It’s probably hard when it’s not planned out (it was easier being on the beach!) but isn’t it an amazing feeling when you really disconnect?
I did not know about that feature on the iPhone. I think it’s good to disconnect from time to time. I have deactivated my Facebook account a few times when there is something else I need to focus on. It’s not because I’m being rude or anything, I just know myself and how easily I can get distracted. Good post! I am glad you enjoyed your vacation…and time away from technology!
Hope you do share some photos from Mexico. It’s one of my all-time favorite places!
I totally agree with you about the difference disconnecting can make. I turn off all notifications so I don’t see what activity there’s been unless I physically open the apps. I also have my “Do not disturb” mode kick in automatically every night. Much as I love the blogging world, I also love stepping away from the technology at least a few times a day!
Haha exactly! I love knowing what everyone is up to but I know that I need to give myself a break sometimes!
I hope you had a great trip! So true about unplugging and disconnecting. We forget that life was not always like this, that we were not always reachable or able to reach everyone and somehow we got by! I try to remember this since most of my life was cell phone/internet free until the last few years when things with technology soared, increasing our level of dependence on it.