01 Aug 4 Mindful Activities To Get Your Dose Of Digital Detox
4 Mindful Activities for a Better Screen:Life Balance
If you’ve spent time familiarising yourself with our site, you know we often share information about the benefits of logging off. That’s all well and good you say, but how am I supposed to actually log off, without feeling bored? Screens are a huge part of our lives, and while we never recommend doing away with them forever, we know unplugging has lasting benefits. We also know that it can be hard to fill time that’s usually dominated by screens. Or even find time to consciously unplug. For these reasons we’re sharing five mindful, phone-free activities to schedule a dose of digital detox into your routine. As we’ve mentioned before, digital detox doesn’t mean all or nothing, it simply means pursuing balance.
#1 Mindful Activities – Gardening
Gardening is known for being good for the body, but it’s also great for the mind. We’re a strong advocate of the healing powers of nature and its ability to form an antidote to the time we waste online. And the feeling of pride after lovingly growing something beautiful on your own little patch of the earth? There’s no comparison.
#2 Mindful Activities – Cooking
Cooking a delicious meal offers a similar sense of achievement to growing something yourself. And it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some me-time and focus on the here and now. That’s rather than getting lost in your phone and allowing your onions to burn! Cooking is creative, yet also therapeutic if you choose to follow a step-by-step recipe.
#3 Mindful Activities – Yoga
Perhaps an obvious choice to get your dose of digital detox, but yoga is one of the best mindful activities going. Mixed with meditation, yoga allows you to focus on your breathing, on your body, on just being. It’s a great way to recover from the numbness of hours spent staring at a screen behind a desk, too. Yoga is also a stress-buster. Stress is something which we feel is exasperated by our always-on culture and ability to check our work emails wherever we go. Switch your phone off and grab your yoga mat instead.
#4 Mindful Activities – Walking
The great thing about walking is that it’s free! Whether you take a little detour on your way home from work or nip out during your lunch break, walking is a fantastically accessible digital detox activity. Keeping active is known to reduce your risk of depression by up to 30% and help those already suffering. A release of endorphins and time to clear your mind away from screens, messages and emails allows you to return to your work with more energy and focus.
Mindfulness and Mental Health
You may have noticed that these are pretty ordinary activities. But they’re everyday activities which deserve more attention. If you’re halfheartedly doing downward facing dog in your yoga class while checking your phone, you’re preventing yourself from reaping the benefits of a phone-free moment. Similarly, if you’re head down scrolling while on a walk, you’re not taking in your surroundings. Nor are you allowing your mind to wander. These ‘quiet’ moments, away from the sustained stimulation of screens, are really important for our mental health. We need to to allow our minds time be creative, to ponder, to have eureka moments, and to feel comfortable in our own company. Soon, we think you’ll find your social feeds more trivial and your time unplugged from the constant noise of information more sacred.
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