Living on the net is a wonderful thing, but once and a while
we all need to “unplug” for some time offline. I know that for me personally
spending time on the internet is both a rewarding and draining experience, and
it’s nice to step away from all of that every once and a while and live without
the wire. There is a problem though: how do you unplug yourself in the current
world? With all of the devices we carry with us on a daily basis fighting for
our attention, flashing notifications, sounding tones, and vibrating nonstop,
how does a person simply step backwards out of the electric pollution to clear
their head? Here’s how I do it.
The most important thing to me is understanding the purpose
of each of my devices. My laptop is for work, my phone is for communication,
and my tablet is for entertainment. It’s important to me that I don’t blur
those boundaries and therefore keep all of the notifications on my tablet off.
As an entertainment device I really have no interest in it alerting me to new
e-mails, or letting me know that the other FTI guys are having a Hangout over
on Google+. Normally when I’m using my tablet I’m lying in bed closing out the
day and none of those things matter to me anyway – so why have them bother me?
That leads into my next tip: I have my phone set to
automatically go into silent mode at a certain point each night (usually around
10:30 but if I work till midnight it’s set to 12:15). Some people choose to
turn their phone off at night, but I don’t want to completely lose the ability
to communicate that my phone provides. By turning it on to silent mode it stops
grabbing for my attention for every little email, text, call, and tweet, and
instead allows me to control when I access that communication. I found that
once I started turning the phone silent it was much easier to relax at night; I
could sit back and relax, read, game, or do whatever else I wanted to do
without feeling like I had to grab at my phone every time it made a beep. After
a couple days my mind stopped actively listening for the beeps too, cutting
down on those “did my phone just go off?” moments and helping me to relax even
more.
By combining these techniques I’ve been able to stay
connected to people during the right time, remain connected in the event of
emergencies, and still find time to unplug and relax when it’s that time. What
techniques do you have to relax a little during your day? Do you ever find
yourself wanting to be “unplugged”? Let me know in the comments, hit me up on
Twitter @CallChrisNow, or e-mail me at chris@chriscall.me
and let me know. I’m always looking for useful tips and tricks.
