Check-in: Unplugged
themedalist
Posts: 3,218 Member
For those of you participating in our Unplugged challenge this week, how is it going for you? Are you able to stick with the time you've designated as a no phone/computer slot? Is this challenge more difficult than you imagined? Or is it easier? Do you see yourself unplugging on a regular basis after this week?
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Getting lots of housework and crocheting done since limiting my computer time. Still not bored enough to enjoy folding laundry!5
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rkreed12345 wrote: »Getting lots of housework and crocheting done since limiting my computer time. Still not bored enough to enjoy folding laundry!
That made me laugh, @rkreed12345!2 -
I'm sticking with it, and for the most part no devices during meals isn't too hard although it isn't automatic. I have to intentionally put my device in my purse before a meal so that I won't "slip." Today, I was in meetings all day, and I really wanted to go online since I hadn't all day, but I withstood the temptation. I think I'm talking more to my husband and that is good. I also did some sewing after dinner on Monday, and some cooking last night. What productive shall I do tonight (after I finish posting this)?
I was telling my daughter about the stopping cues idea today, and she said that it made a lot of sense to her. She was saying that she is getting to hate Facebook.6 -
I'm sticking with it, and for the most part no devices during meals isn't too hard although it isn't automatic. I have to intentionally put my device in my purse before a meal so that I won't "slip." Today, I was in meetings all day, and I really wanted to go online since I hadn't all day, but I withstood the temptation. I think I'm talking more to my husband and that is good. I also did some sewing after dinner on Monday, and some cooking last night. What productive shall I do tonight (after I finish posting this)?
I was telling my daughter about the stopping cues idea today, and she said that it made a lot of sense to her. She was saying that she is getting to hate Facebook.
@77tes, congratulations on finding a strategy that prevents using your device at meal times. Sticking it in your purse is a great strategy. And it beats a more draconian measure that I thought of after watching the TED talk: having a robotic arm decend from your ceiling that snatches your device out of your hands anytime you're using it at the table.
Self restraint is best.
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Timing myself works for me! I cannot be totally away but I can reduce it big time. Thanks!4
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I have been taking time in the evening to read a book instead of play on my phone. I've REALLY enjoyed it! I also have found that I've been WANTING to get back to the book as soon as possible, so on Tue, Wed and today I woke up a little bit early to get a couple chapters in! I'm sticking with it! 6
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Having a lot of trouble with this challenge. I succeeded yesterday because the DH was playing a game on his phone so I had some quiet in the morning and read my Bible. I'm gonna spend some more time reading tonight before I go to bed. I tend to listen to a book from one of my devices or play a youtube video with rain sounds while I fall asleep...does that count as using a device? But either way, I'm going to spend some time tonight reading and sometime tomorrow morning as well.4
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deadiebear_82 wrote: »I have been taking time in the evening to read a book instead of play on my phone. I've REALLY enjoyed it! I also have found that I've been WANTING to get back to the book as soon as possible, so on Tue, Wed and today I woke up a little bit early to get a couple chapters in! I'm sticking with it!
Awesome!! That is good to know.3 -
@deadiebear_82 , I've been reading a real book (you remember them, right? - words printed on paper
) before bedtime too. It is a much better way to get sleepy than reading from a screen.
I'm thinking of also trying the 24 hour break from computer and device. I'll try going from 6 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday. It is the day before classes begin, and I feel like I'll need to check my email Sunday evening, but it would also be nice to take the day off completely.2 -
deadiebear_82 wrote: »I have been taking time in the evening to read a book instead of play on my phone. I've REALLY enjoyed it! I also have found that I've been WANTING to get back to the book as soon as possible, so on Tue, Wed and today I woke up a little bit early to get a couple chapters in! I'm sticking with it!
I just LOVE this!3 -
HGSmith0920 wrote: »Having a lot of trouble with this challenge. I succeeded yesterday because the DH was playing a game on his phone so I had some quiet in the morning and read my Bible. I'm gonna spend some more time reading tonight before I go to bed. I tend to listen to a book from one of my devices or play a youtube video with rain sounds while I fall asleep...does that count as using a device? But either way, I'm going to spend some time tonight reading and sometime tomorrow morning as well.
It is a difficult challenge, @HGSmith0920. Everyone has their own view, but I lump the apps and programs I use into 2 categories: those that give me a lot of benefit and leave me feeling good and those that provide little benefit, are big time sinks (usually time wasters) and often leave me feeling down and even icky.
My car antenna has been broken for several years and to get it repaired is ridiculously expensive. I don't have a decent radio in my car. I listen to podcasts in my 20 minute commute to and from work. I listen to interesting, informative podcasts that I get a lot out of and leave me feeling good after my commute. I thought about giving that up for this week and driving in silence. I decided against it. This is a good thing in my life!
But the bottomless pit of social media is another story. Facebook has its merits, but I've decided a quick scan every day or every other day is all I need to keep in touch with my friends and family. So that's going on a 15 minute timer. Time lost is time we can't recover.
Like all things in life, for me technology is a balancing act.
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@themedalist , I agree about the balancing act.
I don't eliminate the TV when I eliminate my devices because my family enjoys watching old movies, so I feel that activity is different from the social media rabbit hole. @HGSmith0920, listening to a book doesn't seem so much of a problem in the same way as @themedalist listens to podcasts. I also listen to the Bible on cassettes during my commute. Even if I were listening by some high-tech method, I would still be actually listening to someone sharing a text with me.
You decide what YOU need to eliminate, what to use, and what to limit.4 -
I agree that devices are great if used for what Denise said above...things that are of benefit to me. I can't get into the car anymore without hooking up a podcast. Usually it's the model health show with Shawn Stevenson (sp?) and sometimes it's a good book. I find when I listen to music in the car, my mind wanders and I dwell on negative thoughts too much. The podcasts help me learn so much about my amazing body that works in spite of myself, and they are SO incredibly positive, there's not room for a single negative thought in my brain! I play a word game and communicate with my sister and a friend a few minutes each day and that's positive as well. But that Bubble Cloud game has got to go! Or I could set a timer and play once a day so I don't feel totally deprived. This is such a great challenge for me:)4
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I love listening to audio books. Music I love listening out loud, no headphones needed. I use to be addicted to TV. Now I set a day where I usually spend between 2 to 3 hours just catching up on my favorite shows. I do not watch a lot of stuff.
Had an awesome time doing this challenge. Thanks!3 -
This day was great! As soon as I said last night that I would unplug until 6 pm tonight I started thinking of things to look up so I kept track of how many times I thought about using my iPad and the number was pretty remarkable. I am a questioner and love getting immediate answers. But getting one answer usually means getting caught up in the trap of going to another site and another, and then checking email, and my word game, etc. Even my workouts are all on video so instead I went for an hour long hike in the hills. I did get on once this afternoon for the sake of science. My grandkids were here and we found a mushroom so we had to look up what kind it was before they went home. I consider that a justified lapse. Otherwise we just played with toys...no video games. I feel a sense of accomplishment because self-discipline is not my strong suit. My goal is to set a 6 hour space every afternoon to unplug except for audiobooks and podcasts that I can multitask with. I will hand write my questions as they arise and check them out later at one time instead of multiple times a day. Thanks so much, Denise! This was awesome!4
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This day was great! As soon as I said last night that I would unplug until 6 pm tonight I started thinking of things to look up so I kept track of how many times I thought about using my iPad and the number was pretty remarkable. I am a questioner and love getting immediate answers. But getting one answer usually means getting caught up in the trap of going to another site and another, and then checking email, and my word game, etc. Even my workouts are all on video so instead I went for an hour long hike in the hills. I did get on once this afternoon for the sake of science. My grandkids were here and we found a mushroom so we had to look up what kind it was before they went home. I consider that a justified lapse. Otherwise we just played with toys...no video games. I feel a sense of accomplishment because self-discipline is not my strong suit. My goal is to set a 6 hour space every afternoon to unplug except for audiobooks and podcasts that I can multitask with. I will hand write my questions as they arise and check them out later at one time instead of multiple times a day. Thanks so much, Denise! This was awesome!
Tracking how many times you thought about using your devices is a great idea, @nebslp.
I LOVED my unplugging day yesterday! Like you, there were many times throughout the day that had my device been handy, I would have looked something up. Instead, I just made a paper list of things to pursue later. I also maintain my to do list and grocery list on my phone, so those went on paper too, to be added later.
I loved the uninterrupted quiet. No one and no organization was pinging me with information yesterday. I felt no obligation to respond immediately. My time was my own. And because it was quieter around me, it was also quieter within me, if you know what I mean.
I picked up Tuesdays With Morrie and started re-reading it. What a terrific book! I took a long walk in my woods and really noticed the sight and sounds. Much more than I would have had I been walking with headphones.
And at our family gathering yesterday, I wasn't whipping out my phone to answer texts and other notifications. I was fully present in our conversations and visit.
I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to carve out most of my Sundays every week and unplug. Not sure yet if I'll switch my challenge writing to Saturday or how I'll handle that yet. But the weekly challenges will continue and they'll be written by someone who is much more relaxed.
I think we sacrifice a lot when we become too dependent on technology. I'm glad that I'm reclaiming a good chunk of my life.3 -
How did everyone handle texts? Did you tell your family ahead of time you were unplugging on a particular day? I want to have at least one fully unplugged day a week (preferably Sunday, if I can find a way to get around working Sunday night to get ready for Monday mornings) but my kids and grandkids text me often. I personally hate texting but I realize it has it's benefits. I always answer them which can lead into a 30-minute texting session, sometimes more, if it is with one of the kids who lives out of state.
just curious what you all did about that?1 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »How did everyone handle texts? Did you tell your family ahead of time you were unplugging on a particular day? I want to have at least one fully unplugged day a week (preferably Sunday, if I can find a way to get around working Sunday night to get ready for Monday mornings) but my kids and grandkids text me often. I personally hate texting but I realize it has it's benefits. I always answer them which can lead into a 30-minute texting session, sometimes more, if it is with one of the kids who lives out of state.
just curious what you all did about that?
Well, I'm not the best one to ask because I only have one child and no grandchildren. And my daughter and my DH are the main texters in my life.
@OConnell5483, since you want to set aside a chunk of your Sunday to unplug, what if you let your family know about that ahead of time? It might take a few weeks before they are accustomed to the change, but I doubt it will take too long. Also, I'm wondering if there isn't an auto responder for texts, just as there is for emails? There has got to be an app for that… We are not the only people that want to take a break from our phones.
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OConnell5483 wrote: »How did everyone handle texts? Did you tell your family ahead of time you were unplugging on a particular day? I want to have at least one fully unplugged day a week (preferably Sunday, if I can find a way to get around working Sunday night to get ready for Monday mornings) but my kids and grandkids text me often. I personally hate texting but I realize it has it's benefits. I always answer them which can lead into a 30-minute texting session, sometimes more, if it is with one of the kids who lives out of state.
just curious what you all did about that?
I don't text, and I did warn my kids and sister that I would be offline, so it wasn't a big problem. I do make Sunday a ABSOLUTELY NO WORK day (in fact if you mention work at my house of Sunday you have to put a quarter in the naughty jar, and a dollar if you check work email, lol), but I have kept using my devices for fun things. Maybe I'll do one Sunday a month totally unplugged. I recommend the Saturday evening - Sunday evening method which I used; then I can get ready for Monday.3 -
OConnell5483 wrote: »How did everyone handle texts? Did you tell your family ahead of time you were unplugging on a particular day? I want to have at least one fully unplugged day a week (preferably Sunday, if I can find a way to get around working Sunday night to get ready for Monday mornings) but my kids and grandkids text me often. I personally hate texting but I realize it has it's benefits. I always answer them which can lead into a 30-minute texting session, sometimes more, if it is with one of the kids who lives out of state.
just curious what you all did about that?
This is hard. I am always texting family and friends. It is just a sign of the times I guess. I try to limit the amount of time by setting a timer. Timing myself at least keeps me away from the cell phone during the day. I use my phone for EVERYTHING! haha2 -
All great ideas! I actually was wondering the same thing about "auto replies" like you can do with email when you are out of office. That would be a great app. I'm going to look for that! I love the idea of not talking work or checking email on Sundays too. I would love, love, love that. I find myself getting tense every Sunday just thinking about going to work on Monday.
I'm going to give this more thought and find a way to really make this a healthy new habit. Thank you for your ideas and support everyone. Sunday is going to be my unplugged/work-free day I think. I just don't know how yet...
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Did it! Unplugged all day until now, and I'm only on now to post my goals for tomorrow and log my food! What a great day! Sipped coffee this morning. My son stopped over and we chatted at the kitchen table for awhile. Then I took my granddaughter to the mall and we went shopping for work clothes for both of us. She starts a new job on Tuesday (she's 18 yo) and needs clothes to wear in an office/cubicle environment. Really enjoyed it. Came home and my DH had made chili for dinner. Now I am prepping for tomorrow (packing lunch, getting clothes ready). And then I am also going to sit down with a pen and paper and make out next week's meal plan, and pencil in appointments on my work calendar for 15 minutes of meditation time, 30 minutes "me" time, 60 minutes activity/exercise time, as well as 60 minutes unplugged wind down time before bed each night.
This will be my first week actually writing my meal plans and my activity/"me"/meditation times on my actual calendar as appts. I'm hoping the visual reminders will help me stick to it. We'll see....
This was a great challenge, and my plan is to turn Sundays into Unplugged Sundays, and hopefully this will be a lifestyle change for our house.4 -
@OConnell5483, sounds like a wonderful day and a great plan for the week! Respect!! 2
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OConnell5483 wrote: »Did it! Unplugged all day until now, and I'm only on now to post my goals for tomorrow and log my food! What a great day! Sipped coffee this morning. My son stopped over and we chatted at the kitchen table for awhile. Then I took my granddaughter to the mall and we went shopping for work clothes for both of us. She starts a new job on Tuesday (she's 18 yo) and needs clothes to wear in an office/cubicle environment. Really enjoyed it. Came home and my DH had made chili for dinner. Now I am prepping for tomorrow (packing lunch, getting clothes ready). And then I am also going to sit down with a pen and paper and make out next week's meal plan, and pencil in appointments on my work calendar for 15 minutes of meditation time, 30 minutes "me" time, 60 minutes activity/exercise time, as well as 60 minutes unplugged wind down time before bed each night.
This will be my first week actually writing my meal plans and my activity/"me"/meditation times on my actual calendar as appts. I'm hoping the visual reminders will help me stick to it. We'll see....
This was a great challenge, and my plan is to turn Sundays into Unplugged Sundays, and hopefully this will be a lifestyle change for our house.
@OConnell5483, it sounds like you had a terrific day yesterday. Isn't it amazing how much time our devices take from us? It isn't readily apparent until you unplug for awhile and experience the difference. I think unplugging once a week is a great strategy. I unplugged yesterday for a good chunk of the day and loved it!
And scheduling time in your calendar for meditation, you time, exercise, and unplugging would be a top recommendation of those who study habits and goals and how to achieve them. Too often, we focus on the goal and not the system or the sequence of actions necessary to achieve that goal. If you want to be a better at meditation, exercising, or unplugging, making time in your schedule to do those things is the key. And writing them down in your calendar increases the likelihood that you'll follow through and do those things. Effectively, you are saying "This is just as important to me as a doctor's appointment or hair appointment" Which it is!
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Well done @OConnell5483 !!!!2
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my unplugged day was Sunday.
I was surprised at how often I randomly wanted to go to the computer to look this or that up or check email. The desktop, for me, is the most tempting to want to use too much, and it is so much easier for me to fall down an internet rabbit hole on that than it is on my iPad or phone because of the size of the screen as well as having a real keyboard to use.
Being unplugged meant that I couldn't watch another episode of Downton Abbey
. But that wasn't really too hard on me because I have enough things that I can do.
But it was hard to give up listening to my library book because I enjoy it, and washing dishes doesn't feel so much like a chore while listening. I actually can do most things around the house while listening to podcasts or books. I can color with or without listening to a story, but listening makes it even more enjoyable.
I chose to allow incoming texting or phone calls from family as that is important to me. But I didn't initiate text or calls.
I enjoy reading whether it is on an e-reader, a devise, or an actual paper book. I use all of these interchangeably. So unplugging didn't make a difference there. However, I can easily read past midnight whether it is a paper book or on a devise. It is a matter of self control, not whether or not I'm plugged in.
My take away from this experiment/ experience was that for me the feeling of being too plugged in has less to do with actually using a devise but more to do with if what I am doing while using the devise is a time waster, or I'm not getting done what needs to be done.
Thank you for the interesting challenge.
:flowerforyou:2 -
texasgardnr wrote: »my unplugged day was Sunday.
I was surprised at how often I randomly wanted to go to the computer to look this or that up or check email. The desktop, for me, is the most tempting to want to use too much, and it is so much easier for me to fall down an internet rabbit hole on that than it is on my iPad or phone because of the size of the screen as well as having a real keyboard to use.
Being unplugged meant that I couldn't watch another episode of Downton Abbey . But that wasn't really too hard on me because I have enough things that I can do.
But it was hard to give up listening to my library book because I enjoy it, and washing dishes doesn't feel so much like a chore while listening. I actually can do most things around the house while listening to podcasts or books. I can color with or without listening to a story, but listening makes it even more enjoyable.
I chose to allow incoming texting or phone calls from family as that is important to me. But I didn't initiate text or calls.
I enjoy reading whether it is on an e-reader, a devise, or an actual paper book. I use all of these interchangeably. So unplugging didn't make a difference there. However, I can easily read past midnight whether it is a paper book or on a devise. It is a matter of self control, not whether or not I'm plugged in.
My take away from this experiment/ experience was that for me the feeling of being too plugged in has less to do with actually using a devise but more to do with if what I am doing while using the devise is a time waster, or I'm not getting done what needs to be done.
Thank you for the interesting challenge.
:flowerforyou:
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights with us, @texasgardnr.
I've had similar takeaways from our unplugging challenge. By unplugging for the whole day, I got to see the many ways I use my phone and devices. Some of them are useful, add value, and bring me greater happiness while others detract and are big time wasters. One thing I really enjoy is reading my iPad while walking slowly on my treadmill. (I can't easily balance a real book on my treadmill). It seems kind of silly to give this up for a blanket "no devices on Sunday". But I am determined to use my devices much less on Sundays, to free up time to pursue other activities. I really want to avoid going down the Internet rabbit hole once a week. No Facebook, no email, and no work projects on Sunday. (I love @77tes practice of having to put money in the swear jar if she works on Sunday). I'm also shifting to write our weekly challenges on Saturday instead of Sunday.
I love reclaiming more of my day and focusing on more relaxing and enjoyable activities.
Happy Sunday, Everyone!2 -
Yesterday was my 3rd unplugged Sunday. I have to say, I LOVE THIS! I plan to continue. I do answer texts from family but I do not initiate them. I also don't feel guilty if I have to hop onto the computer to look something up quick (a recipe). But for me, what is rewarding, is giving myself permission to NOT answer everyone immediately and to NOT have to be readily available for everyone. I plan to continue with Unplugged Sundays forever if I can and possibly add Unplugged Saturday too sometime down the road.3
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