Our Presence Not Presents Christmas digital detox campaign challenged twelve bloggers to put down their phones for two days, to experience logging-off and focusing on family and friends. We hope that their stories about their experiences will inspire you to consider a digital detox of your own. Next up in the series is …
Debbie, Country Heart and Home’s chief blogger was the perfect fit for the digital detox challenge. Not only does Debbie have a hectic schedule that includes blogging, crafting, and baking; she has six kids to supervise with her husband Stuart. As you can imagine, it’s often hard to balance both these parts of her life, so how did Debbie manage?
Debbie started off her challenge with a strong determination to genuinely experience a digital detox. “Starting midnight Thursday I popped my iPhone to one side and set the alarm on my new MP01 phone, which was designed for exactly this process and has no internet connection” Using her Punkt Mp01 phone she managed to avoid the urges most of us have during bedtime, the urge to check our smartphone. “Whether it was subconsciously knowing I couldn’t pop online so I wasn’t worried I was missing something, or just the plain and simple fact that I didn’t have the light from messages popping up all the time I am not sure but either way I was glad of a full night sleep!”
It’s hard to grasp how much we can actually get done when we detach from our phones. Debbie was able to re-discover how much she could do without the presence of her smartphone. “Hubby came in from work at 10am and I had already ploughed through stitching together almost 30 stockings, the kitchen was cleaned, breakfast dishes done, living room hoovered and meal plan prepped for the week ahead!”
Although Debbie had a good start, the timing of Black Friday was unfortunate. “While doing this I did have a sneaky check of my emails (348 to be exact in just over 12 hours – damn you Black Friday!) Oops but only a little lapse and I didn’t go on the internet surfing so does that even count as a fail?!” So Debbie didn’t succumb to the temptations of email and she should be as proud of herself as we are!
Checking your phone whilst watching TV has become a bad habit that most of us are guilty of. However. Debbie managed to overcome this. ” I managed to sit through both Gogglebox and I’m A Celebrity, watching all of it without having to rewind to catch the bits I missed while checking the internet.” “I headed off to bed with a clear head instead of mulling over what I had just read online or wondering whether I had updated Twitter, Instagram or Facebook etc.”
What Stuart helped point out to Debbie is the essence of what a digital detox can do for you. It’s also what our guests on the digital detox retreat feel once they break away from their reliance on their digital devices. Debbie had the same realisation. “Things don’t grind to a halt when I’m not here and to be honest if I’m not posting on social media constantly does it really effect my stats and work that much?! Probably not! So, in the future I will be taking at least one day a week off – offline, off from emails, off from messages and off to be present with my family!”
Does Debbie’s experience inspire you to try a digital detox of your own this Christmas?
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