It was a week-long vacation for me.
Switching off the mind, however, was impossible for me.
Frequently, I checked all my emails (personal, codeRECODE), even when no important email was expected.
Over and over again, I checked Slack and WhatsApp.
I had lost my sanity without realizing it.
The good news was that my five-year-old daughter complained that I promised to be with her during vacations.
It was time for a #DigitalDetox for me.
In addition to uninstalling almost all of my phone apps, I shut down my laptop and locked it away.
The journey was not without challenges.
The biggest one was FOMO—the constant fear of missing out on crucial things. It was enough for me to tell everyone in the family to call me and not to use text or WhatsApp.
In addition, I needed to keep reminding myself that nothing was more significant than my sanity.
The second challenge was going to sleep. I have had a decade-old habit of listening to audiobooks at bedtime. I charged my Kindle and bought reading glasses to solve the problem.
The result? It worked!
It took me one day to shift to Kindle and two days to get over the FOMO.
I started sleeping sleping like a baby!
I forgot what stress is!
I had sky-high energy levels!
I had a wonderful time with Family!
Most importantly, I feel like I have more control over my life!
Did I lose anything? Yes, but nothing significant.
Yes, there were a few emails that were waiting for my reply. A few messages on WhatsApp still show “Waiting for this message.” Nothing that I couldn’t handle.
I will extend the practice of Digital Detox to every weekend, to being with.
If you have not tried it, give it a try! Do it this weekend. Tell critical people that you will not be able to check emails. Tell them to call you if it is urgent. For over 99% of you, there will not be any calls. You will only have absolute bliss!
PS: My daughter did not have much time for me. She was busy with her friends. 🙂