When is the last time you had a digital detox? If the answer is ‘never’ or ‘I can’t remember’, you need to read on.
There are countless social media sites to distract us, plenty of productivity apps to keep us focused, and many more reasons to check our phones, laptops and tablets on an hourly basis.
But all that technology isn’t always good for the brain and you’d be surprised by how often you check in with your devices when you don’t even need to.
If you’ve never taken a digital detox before, it may be time to start. Some people might think it’s unnecessary, while others may genuinely believe they won’t be able to stop, no matter how hard they try.
However, there are a number of reasons that a digital detox will be worth your while, both for your personal life and for the success of your career.
Before you panic and think about how much you need to be digitally connected for your job, take a breath.
There are steps you can take to disconnect in a number of different ways and you can go on a short, 30-day detox that will help you reintroduce the necessary apps and devices without going back to your old bad habits.
A digital detox will also help reduce your stress and increase your attention span. While some productivity apps can help you focus in work, constantly checking your phone is a sure way of keeping you distracted. This will lower your work output and most likely increase your stress when you have a mounting to-do list to deal with.
Taking a break will also refine your problem-solving abilities and your analytical skills. How often do you search for the answer to a problem online without trying to logically think through a solution yourself?
The more you offload your ‘thinking skills’ to Google, the less sharp your mind becomes. Allowing your own brain to face and solve a problem will help you think more creatively when it comes to issues in work, too.
If you need more reasons for why a digital detox is a good idea, check out the infographic below.
Infographic: Get VoIP
Now that you’ve decided to put the phone down, it’s time to take the 30-day digital detox challenge below.
It will help you take it one day at a time and become a little more distant from your devices bit by bit until you become independent of them.
Infographic: Get VoIP
Power off your iPhone. Image: Bloomicon/Shutterstock
