04/07/2024
Self-Care Tip Number Three: Digital Detox
Most of use with a smart phone recognize the benefits of taking a break and digital detoxes are often recommended. Some people will get rid of their smart phone for a flip phone. Research finds it is not sustainable in the long run to use more extreme reduction techniques. My recommendation for change is always to start small. When we go too big we are less likely to succeed in the long run.
1. Set do not disturb. Most phones have the ability to set up times for do not disturb. This prevents notifications from texts, phone calls or other distractions. You can keep notifications from specific numbers and shut off all other app notifications that light up your phone and distract you from the present moment. I don't need to know an item I looked at in Target is on sale.
2. Learn to wait on notifications. I typically reply pretty quickly because I will forget for weeks otherwise. When I opened my practice, I was responding to emails and phone calls well outside of business hours. When I had a smaller practice that was kind of ok, but I knew growing that would be unsustainable. I was connected with Dr. Amna Shabbir, a family practice doc turned coach, and one of the first things we talked about was I don't have to respond to everything right away. I can set a time to look at messages. Most of the time people don't need to get ahold of us immediately, if they do it is likely they have another way to contact us. For people with anxiety/OCD, missing a notification can cause guilt. What if it was about my mom? What if I could have done something if I knew sooner? If you take 2-3 hours between checking messages, the thing you could have done different still would not have likely changed the outcome. Allowing your brain to be in the moment of what you are doing and not waiting for someone else's crisis is important. I shut off notifications from work completely from 730pm-730am.
3. Social media breaks. Spending too much time on social media often increases depression and anxiety. We are looking at everyone else's highlight reel when we feel bad. We didn't sleep well, work was tough. We compare ourselves, our homes, our families, our time spent away. Try to limit the amount of time you are on when you go to social media. Set up periods of the day to specifically check social media, and try to only do it during those times. It is easy to scroll away for much longer than we intend. Set a timer on your phone for 1 min, 5 min whatever time is less but feels reasonable. You can check the things that are more relevant to your day, then when the timer goes off it is a visible reminder to put it down.
4. Apps that change the appearance of our home and app screens. Minimalist app on androids takes away all icons and colors to help conscious use of the phone when you pick it up. Turning: digital detox app on iphone lets you set up blocks. I'm an outlier on android so not as familiar with iphone apps, but minimalist is one that I have found helpful.
5. Compassion in all things. Sometimes we will mess up, and that's ok. We get the chance to try again.
