ESCAPADA E-MAGAZINE
DO I NEED TO DIGITALLY DETOX?
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Read the news? Check your emails? Scroll through social media? Now, imagine your phone’s not in the room. If that makes you feel aimless or uncomfortable, it may be time for a digital detox. Depending on who you are, and how much you use technology in your daily routine, a digital detox might seem either insane or too easy. It’s not until you begin to experience the highs and lows of a digital detox rollercoaster that you realise just how addicting social media and television is.
WHY SHOULD I DO A DIGITAL DETOX?
Start using your time for things that need it!
When was the last time you completed your tasks and/or to-do lists on time without procrastinating? The digital world is a distraction that easily gets in the way of managing our time. We are wasting too much time on something that doesn’t matter in the long run. It’s time to gain back control of your sleep patterns, your work schedule, and your free time.
Regain your love for yourself!
With so much comparison going around, it’s no wonder that self-love is strange to understand. Every picture on social media gives a new meaning to the word “perfect,” and “beautiful.” When your reflection in the mirror doesn’t add up to the images you see on social media, your self-esteem goes down. When we’re constantly comparing, there’s no way we live the life we were always meant to be. It’s time to put down that smart phone and invest that time in developing self-love.
Get back to your creative self!
With all the energy the digital world drains from us, there’s less time to feel motivated to create, to complete our goals, and to chase our dreams. By taking time back for yourself, inspiration has room to rise again. It’s time to remember what it feels like to accomplish something, to dream outside of the box, and to chase the life you actually get to live. When you have time to reflect, pause and observe you have a chance to see patterns and connect dots. Patterns are the insight necessary to have ideas both big and small.
Don't miss those moments!
Memories are always being created, and if we are constantly checking our phones, we’re bound to miss something. It’s simple pleasures that make life more fulfilling. It’s time to stop letting life pass us by and start experiencing all the real world has to offer us–instead of looking for it in a TV series or an Instagram account. When your phone is down, your eyes are up and you’re looking around noticing things, talking to people, listening to those around you and receiving information from all your senses, you are topping up your creative fuel. As Alfred Hitchcock says, "Ideas come from everything". But you have to be present to notice things.
Positive relationships!
Nothing kills meeting a friend for a catch up when they spend their time with you updating their instagram with photos of their cup of coffee. Being present is one of the key but basic elements of positive relationship building. Being on your phone makes this next to impossible. We touch our phones 80 times a day. It’s a staggering number that most likely makes you cringe. It’s truth that we’ve become slave to our devices. Which gives better hugs? Your partner/friend or your phone?
SIMPLE STEPS TO START TODAY!
Ban phones at night, sleeping with it outside of your bedroom (just buy an alarm clock!)
Go phone-free entirely on the weekends
If you establish a maximum daily time allowance for your devices then you will be more likely to it and you will probably notice the need for daily allowance decrease
Make sure you turn all screens off at least two hours before bed - that means no phone, no laptop, no iPad. "Your bedroom is for sleeping - so don't turn it into a cinema, a shopping centre, a bank or a casino.
HOW LONG SHOULD I DETOX FOR?
A week is typically a good time for a digital detox. However, if you’re enjoying the process, why not extend it? Pick what works best for you, but be sure to challenge yourself.
Moments are passing us by, and there’s a life out there that’s waiting for you to explore!
ON OUR RETREATS:
On our health retreats, it has been a subject we have battled with! Do we ban phones?? Do we turn off the wifi?? etc etc. We never want people on retreat to feel like they are in school but yet there is an overwhelming need to digitally detach from our technology. Normally on retreat, this happens naturally over the course of a couple of days - being in the right environment surrounded by healthy interventions, time off etc., allows a natural process of digital detachment to happen, however this is not so easy back in our normal lives. The break from this on retreat is invaluable for our guests, to realise, firstly, how addicted they are to their phones/laptops and most importantly to another world of social media, that is in fact not the real world you are living in. Secondly, how wonderful it feels to let go of technology...Even for just a few days and break into your own reality...Just you and create that time and space for you....
We have decided to 'digitally detox' our next two retreats in Mallorca. Maybe sometimes people do need a helping hand. We will let you know how we get on. If you need a digital detox ~ see our next two retreats:
AUTUMN REJUVENATION ~ DIGITAL DETOX
MALLORCA, SPAIN // SEPT 22ND - 29TH 2018
&
PRE-WINTER IMMUNITY BOOST
MALLORCA, SPAIN // NOV 1ST - NOV 4TH 2018
