A Digital Detox Day Reflection | What to do during a digital detox
I didn't go completely phone and laptop free, I decided I was allowed to watch Stranger Things with my boyfriend and enjoy dipping in out of an audiobook - but that social media was a no-no... To be completely honest, I did slip up, twice. I caught myself beginning to scroll twitter, and pressing the Instagram app but those 10 seconds, were a whole lot less than the hours that usually pass me by staring at the lives of strangers through my iPhone screen.
It was really lovely. My boyfriend and I had a lazy morning at home, I did some sewing for my Etsy store, we went for lunch and I didn't pause to snap a shot of our food for Instagram stories. We visited my mum, and I didn't find myself trying to both scroll and engage in conversation. I was present. We laughed and chatted and drank tea, and I didn't tell the internet about it. It was nice to be anonymous. We drove back, listening to Harry Potter on the way, I took in the story along with passing green fields and blue skies. We returned home and I got out my paints and fell back in love with one of my old hobbies - I painted watercolour strokes on a page and tried not to be too precious about the outcome. We cosied up and watched Stranger Things and I didn't miss out on the details because I was distracted by twitter. I felt free - and when I write this a day later I feel refreshed - excited about life, offline and online.
I can see that one day away from the small screen was the mental health day I didn't know I needed. Disconnecting gave me the chance to reconnect - with my family, my boyfriend and myself.
I won't be doing it all the time, because there's a reason I love the online world, both when it comes to consuming and creating content, but I am going to aim for a least once a month because it felt good for the soul.
Activities for a digital detox day:
- Read: I'm always wanting to lose myself in a good book, it's something I always wish I had more time for. A digital detox day is a perfect excuse to catch up with some reading. If you're after some book recommendations, you can find my book-related blog posts here.
- Spend time with loved ones: You do that all the time already right? But I bet you don't do it without digital distractions. Catching up with loved ones without scrolling is a whole lot more special.
- Games: FYI, board games aren't just for Christmas time. A digital detox day is a perfect time to dust off the monopoly.
- Jigsaw Puzzles: The same goes for jigsaw puzzles. I love getting out a puzzle during the festive season, and there is absolutely no reason you can't spend your time puzzling all year round, and they will definitely keep you entertained during a digital detox.
- Go for Walk: I've said it a million times before on this blog. I bloody love going to for a walk. I find being outside in nature refreshing.
- Go for Bike Ride: Now personally, I won't be doing this one, because I'm not the most confident on a bike - my boyfriend, however, is obsessed with going for bike rides with his friends - so if you want a tech-free activity, bike rides could be the one.
- Drawing/painting: Growing up, drawing and painting were some of my favourite hobbies, as I've got older it's gotten a bit forgot, one of those things which get pushed aside because I don't have 'time' for it (still have time to play The Sims and scroll Instagram though). On my digital detox day, I spent a couple of hours rediscovering my love for painting, and I'm going to try to keep it up. Creativity is something to be rediscovered during a digital detox day.
- Pottery painting: A few years ago we went to centre parks (vlog here) and we did some pottery painting and it was my favourite part. It's something I've been meaning to do since, and a digital detox day is a perfect time to do this.
- Go for a Picnic: Sadly for those in the UK, this is kind of weather dependant. But who doesn't love taking there picnic blankets and sandwiches to the park?
- Clean/Organise: There's always cleaning and organising to be done, and although you might hate it, I find it pretty therapeutic, making it the perfect activity for a digital detox day.
- Fruit and veg picking: I'm not the only one who feels a bit envious when I see the pumpkin picking pictures on Instagram, am I?! a digital detox day is the perfect time to arrange to go picking.
Outfit Details:
Dress: M&S (old, similar linked) | Headband: Chloe Harriets Creates | Scrunchie (worn on the wrist): Chloe Harriets Creates | Necklace: MoonglowSandals: New Look
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FollowWhat I've Been Reading | 2020 Summer Books
Today I thought I'd share some book reviews of all that I've been reading this Summer.
It's one for all of you bookworms out there - A little update on my pages I've been flicking through and my thoughts on them.
The Kissing Booth (1 & 2) by Beth Reekles
A Map from Here to There by Emery Lord
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
We of the Forsaken World by Kiran Bhat (AD - Gifted)
* Affiliate links are used in this blogpost.