Digital Detox: The Ultimate Guide
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Hi! I'm Hanna, and I can be your Digital Detox coach - if you'll have me.
I hit an emotional rock bottom as a new mom of two under two in 2020, and since then I have been doing everything I can to find my true self, and better myself. A social media detox was one of the first places I started - then in 2023 I took a year off social media (but you don't have to do that).
Social media seems to be the thing taking up most of our digital time these days, but we will hit all aspects of taking a digital detox in this article.
Though, I have completely quit social media. I know thats not possible for everyone, but I wanted to find a way to help those of you who understand that you need to have some time away from your phone, but also cannot quit social media cold turkey.
Read how quitting social media changed my life forever - here.
There is very little we can do in todays age that can't be done from our phones. It's convenient, it's easy, and it's quick. We can connect with anyone, at anytime - no matter where we are. We can shop, work, read, learn, and watch from the little device we hold in our pockets.
Though, this is really convenient, for some of us it can also lead to digital overwhelm, burnout, even anxiety or loss of creativity, and passion.
If this is you, then you need a digital detox - and i'm here to help.
Digital Detox Meaning
What is a Digital Detox: A digital detox refers to disconnecting from technology for a period of time. Some people can experience reduced stress, a spark in creativity and passion for hobbies and work, improved focus, a reconnection to their lives and relationships (even the one with themselves).
How to do a Digital Detox
There are a few different ways to do a technology detox, here are some things to consider when deciding on how you'll do yours.
- How long would you like to do it? I would suggest a minimum of a week, but a better choice would be 2-3 weeks because there is an adjustment period.
- How strict will you be? Will this be for just social media, or also for TV, youtube, will you add hours of each day where you don't even check texts? Or maybe even turn it off for a few hours each day?
- Will you need to completely separate from your phone by putting it in another room to stay off of it?
- Will you need to delete your social apps off of your phone, or just turn off notifications?
- Will you need to set parental controls to notify you whn to get off certain or all apps?
- Who do you need. to tell, and give another way of contacting you if they need you?
I do have a FREE 7 Day digital detox E-Book + Workbook for you, if you need a more structured plan.
Digital Detox for Students
If you are a student looking to do a digital detox, you should not allow this to effect your school work. Though you may want to do a full of shut down of technology, it may not be 100% possible with your coursework.
Though, I would recommend checking with your teachers and professors to see if there is another way for you to execute and participate in class work.
If there are limited ways for you to not be as "online" with your school work, I recommend deleting or locking all other apps that may distract you.
Why is Digital Detoxification Important?
There is no questioning that technology has improved aspects of our lives, but there are also consequences to our ability of being constantly connected. Here are a few benefits to a digital detox:
- Being Bored: Sounds odd, I know. But being bored can be very beneficial for you. Especially if you've been feeling burn out, lack of creativity, or lack of inspiration. Being bored will force you to either think (seems we stopped doing this for ourselves), to get going on something other than checking your phone, or to work on something other than finishing the last season of your most binge worthy show.
- Stress Reduction: There are many studies that show how spending a lot of time on screens can lead to anxiety, self-isolation, stress, brain fog, and in some cases depression.
- Physical Activity: Decreasing screen time will get you doing other things like picking up old hobbies, going for walks, or maybe even picking up a new interest! All of these things will get your body moving - and we don't need to talk about how important that is!
- Better Sleep: By putting our phone down a few hours before bed, we will fall asleep better, and stay asleep easier. The blue light emitted from screens can negatively effect our sleep cycles.
- Increases Mindfulness: By not spending so much time on our devices, we will be pointing our attention to our real lives, our loved ones, and even ourselves. We can reconnect with our outside world much easier without a device in hand all the time.
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Increased Productivity: Because our devices have. so many distractions, putting them down can help us focus, get tasks done, and even get them done faster.
Step 1: Setting Your Goals
Before you start your digital detoxification process, you'll want to nail down your goals, and connect to them. You really want to focus in on this part of the process, as it will keep you strong when you feel weak and want to reach for your phone. Making your goals very clear, and adding an emotional aspect to them will help you remember of them more, and make the whole process more meaningful.
My Digital Detox Guide + Workbook will give you a list of common goals to sort through.
Step 2: Lining Out Your Your Method
First of all, you'll want to decide on how long you want to do your digital detox. Then, you'll want to decide on how far you want to take it (we spoke about this a little bit earlier).
- Will you want to completely unplug, set your phone in another room? For how long?
- Screen Free mornings and evenings? Instead of picking up your phone in the morning, do you want to do yoga, or an amazing skincare routine? In the evenings, instead of TV do you want to clean, meditate, journal?
- Social media detox? Are you okay with TV, with youtube? Do you just want to focus on deleting social media apps from your phone for a period of time? Or setting parental controls for the amount of time you can spend on certain apps?
You'll want to customize your method based on your personal lifestyle and goals. You can easily do this in my Digital Detox Guide.
Step 3: Planning Ahead
Before beginning, you'll want to consider a few simple things to send off your digital detox.
- Is there anyone you need to tell about doing this? Parents, friends, peers, teachers, or your boss? You'll want to give them another way of contacting you incase an emergency occurs.
- Make plans: Once you decide how long you will be doing this for, you'll want to make plans to fill your extra time. I have a list of digital detox activities in my Free Digital Detox Guide.
- Get Alternatives: Research some alternatives to social media apps, or Netflix. For instance, I dowloaded Duolingo - it's a fun, game like language learning app. I am currently learning french in 15-20 minutes a day!
Step 4: Implementation
Now it's time to take action! Here are some digital detox tips to help you stay on track.
- Remember Your Goals: We spoke about this earlier, and it's so important to your success to remember your goals. I would even recommend you rewrite them every morning to get them in your mind everyday!
- Be Mindful: You'll find that you have some extra free time on your hands. After a few days, it's best to not distract or fill this time completely. It's best of you can just sit - be mindful. Notice the world around you, think about your life, your goals, and where you want to go next with your life.
- Don't Run From Boredom: Boredom is good. Boredom will spark the opportunity for your creative self. Use boredom to your advantage and try a new hobby, craft, or bucket list item!
Step 5: Make Digital Detoxification a Monthly Habit
A digital Detox isn't a " do it one time" sorta thing.
I recommend either setting a week away every month (thats only 12 times a year) to do a digital detox, or set up your life so that you are doing it a little bit daily. For instance, not being on your screen for the first or last hour before getting out of, or into bed. Or maybe even setting up permanent parental controls for certain apps.
Tips to Stay Strong During your Digital Detox
- Find a Detoxification Buddy: Everything is easier as a team. Find someone else that is also interested in doing something like this, and do it together! This is a great way to be held accountable, and make the process a whole lot more fun!
- Journal The Experience: Do a journal for entry for each day of your detox. This will help you see what worked best for you, and any changes that you should make next round.
- 'Be Patient and Persistent: Remember that this is new, and anything new takes time to get perfect. Don't beat yourself up if you slip and definitely dont give up if you slip up. Give yourself grace, and keep moving forward.'Be Patient and Persistent: Remember that this is new, and anything new takes time to get perfect. Don't beat yourself up if you slip and definitely dont give up if you slip up. Give yourself grace, and keep moving forward.
Implementing these tiny but mighty tips can make or break your experience with the digital detox, and help you experience the most benefits from the experience.
Final Thoughts
Overall, a digital detox can be an incredible way to level up your life in so many immeasurable ways like reconnecting with yourself, the world around you, and your relationships, reducing stress, feeling more lively, and kicking brain fog to the curb.
Remember to go through all the steps from setting goals, to actually taking the plunge and implementing the detox. Stay strong, committed, and give yourself grace if you slip up.
Finally, be sure to journal through the process so that you can reflect back easily, and set a program for yourself to continuously do this method of self-care.
