During lockdown, my screen time very sneakily ticked up to almost 7 hours a day. 7 hours a day. My mornings often went like this: turn off the alarm on my iPhone, lay in bed while I scroll through Facebook, respond to texts, hit “like” on some motivational LinkedIn post, scroll through Twitter, recycle and repeat until I’m late for my Zoom meeting.

So, I think it’s about time for a bit of a reset. This September 5, I’ll be participating in Digital Detox Day, an initiative started by Lush Cosmetics and mental health organization #IAMWHOLE that challenges us to spend one whole day away from our phones to step out of the digital world to live in real life.

If you’d like to take the challenge as well - here are a few ways to spend your day away from technology!

Cook up a recipe from a recipe book

The internet seems like it has infinity plus one recipes to choose from. From TikTok videos to food blogs to Buzzfeed articles, the options are endless… and overwhelming. Sometimes when I’m looking for something to cook I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of Tuscan White Bean Skillets and 15-minute Shrimp Fajitas and 31 Recipes That All Start With A Jar of Pickles with nothing to actually grab on to!

Why do I put myself through all this stress when I already have a couple beautiful recipe books with a limited number of curated recipes hand picked specially for me? This Digital Detox day, skip the sea of 10,000 online Spaghetti Bolognese recipes and dust off a recipe book off the shelf and get stuck in something yummy!

Not feeling good about your recipe books? You could always pop down to your local book store and pick one up. We’d highly recommend The Quick Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer or Delicously Ella with Friends by Ella Mills.

Treat yourself to an at home spa day

I recently rediscovered the coziness of taking time out of your day to pamper yourself with a glass of wine, an at-home pedicure, and a luxurious hydrating facemask. There’s something to be said about the feeling of blocking out an hour in the evening to slow down and just treat yourself with some old fashioned self-care.

It’s as if you’re saying to the world “this is my time” and in a world where our time and attention is constantly fought over between work and friends and our devices, make this a special evening just for you with your phone tucked away.

To keep up with theme, head over to your local Lush Cosmetics and pick up their “IRL” bath bomb! If you haven’t tried a bath bomb before, you’re in for a real treat, especially with this one transforming the water into a dream-like sunset.

Visit your local café and have a chat

Try this: tuck your phone under your pillow and leave it home when you go out for your morning coffee. Listen to the birds as you walk, feel the concrete on your feet and the air in your face. Then, when you arrive at your coffee shop, don’t slip away onto your phone while your barista is brewing up your flat white, start up a little chit chat!

I’ll be one to admit that when I head off to grab my morning soya vanilla flat white, I’ll spend my walk fiddling around on my phone (maybe even watching some TopShop haul YouTube video), arrive at my local coffee shop, order my coffee, and tuck back into my phone texting or scrolling away. But, I can say that I’m keen to try going about my morning a bit more slow and a bit more mindful.

Here are a few articles that may help you decide where to go…

Host a games night

Grab your friends, your housemates, your family, or your cat and trade in your Candy Crush and Pokémon Go for some good old-fashioned board game fun.

The other weekend I went to a house warming “games night” and it was one of the most fun house parties I’ve been to AL (after lockdown). With a quiz portion (phones locked away in typical quiz form), a race to complete a 20-piece Peppa Pig puzzle, a tense game of Jenga, and free flowing Sangria, it felt oh-so refreshing to have a fully tech-free evening.

Marie Kondo your closet

I fell victim to the temptations of online shopping while in lockdown and my closet has slowly evolved to a messy monster filled with ill-fitting playsuits, stained jumpers, and holey undies. Do those bring me joy? No. Reclaim your time away from your tech by donating all that in your closet that doesn’t make you feel like superwoman when you put it on.

Likewise, after Digital Detox Day, give some thought towards Marie Kondo-ing your tech. Scrolling through your Instagram and you see something which doesn’t give you joy? Get rid of it, and try the same with your other social medias and apps as well!

City Girl, Tiffany, wrote all about The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Your Life in an article a while back!

Curl up with a good book

Ah, a classic. You’ve probably already thought of this one or you were probably expecting to see this on a list of “things to do without tech”. Well, here it is. And it’s here because it’s truly such a lovely way to spend an afternoon, or a morning, or a lunch break.

Sometimes reading feels like a chore, but I firmly believe that just means you haven’t found the right book yet. My rule of thumb is to give a book 50 pages, and if by then you’re not compelled to keep going, put it down and try another.

Here are a few ideas for what you could get yourself stuck into:

Digital Detox Day is a chance to reset, switch off, and live life in the present and in the real world. It’s no secret anymore that social media and technology can have a negative impact on our mental health and I’m looking forward to using this day as an experiment to see how different I feel taking a step back. Hope to hear how you spend your Digital Detox Day in the real world! Read all about the initiative by Lush and its benefits here!

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Written by Ratuja Reddy

September 5th Is Digital Detox Day: Take a Time-Out from Your Tech