Interested in doing a screen detox? Here’s what happened to me when I took a break from devices. Plus, a simple screen detox plan so that you can reap the same benefits.
Easy Screen Detox Plan For Beginners
- Are you convinced that you can’t survive without the little glowing screen you keep in your pocket? Start with a mindset shift. Know that you are not alone in your struggle and you can get off screens. Just a few short decades ago, people were living perfectly happy and productive lives without smartphones to scroll on for 7+ hours a day. As alluring as it may be, entertainment technology is not actually essential to our everyday lives.
- Second, set a goal and stick to it. How long do you want to be unplugged? Try one day, one week, or even a month. Wherever you begin, the important part is that you commit and just start.
- Next, make tech usage super inconvenient for yourself. Do whatever you have to do in order to accomplish your digital detox goal. Give your friend your video game console for a week, remove social media apps from your phone, temporarily cancel your internet or phone plan, block websites and restrict internet usage timeframes directly from your router. If your tech use is out of control, make it as easy as possible for yourself to stay offline.
- Last but not least, don’t focus so much on what you can’t do (i.e. stream, game, and scroll). Direct your attention to the positive things you can do such as host a game night, take a hike, walk your pet, go to a knitting class, engage your family, write letters by hand, organize your home, read a new book. Also, be sure to get outdoors in the fresh air and sunlight as much as possible during your screen detox. Nature has a calming effect that we just can’t deny. There’s no better way to refresh and pass the time offline than by enjoying the beauties of creation.
What are the positive effects of less screen time?
There are so many positive effects of less screen time. Here are the benefits I experienced from my screen detox…
Brain fog lifted
My brain felt like mush on screens. I had trouble with memory and concentration. After a lot of time online, it was a struggle to even remember what I went into a room to do.
I also noticed a correlation between excessive screen time and the inability to answer another person’s question in a timely manner. Screens had a slowing effect on my brain.
Thankfully, the disappearance of this mysterious screen induced brain fog was one of the very first benefits I noticed during my screen detox.
When I got screens out of sight and out of mind for an extended period of time, I became mentally sharper.
It was like that old song that talks about seeing more clearly after the rain is gone, except I could see more clearly once the screens were gone.
Anxiety decreased
I have struggled with anxiety on and off throughout my life. It was particularly high during a miscarriage and also during one of my postpartum experiences.
On screens however, my anxiety seemed to multiply.
Some of this was attributed to the content I consumed. Too much news can be alarming and social media comparison can cause a mom a lot of stress.
However, my anxiety was elevated after screen time even if I hadn’t been consuming anything that should make me anxious.
After I did a screen detox, I noticed a significant decrease in anxiety and an increase in peace.
Slept better
Raise your hand if you sleep soundly after an hour and a half scrolling on social media.
Or how about after streaming four episodes of your favorite show in a row?
I certainly don’t.
During my screen detox, I slept like a baby.
When the blue light glow and casino-like features on my old iPhone were no longer stimulating me into the wee hours of the night, I was able to unwind in healthy ways, get to bed early, and sleep all throughout the night.
Ready to do a phone detox, Mama? Here’s how:
I spent more time with humans in-person
Why hang out with friends in person when you already feel like you are hanging out with them online?
Using social media, group texting, and relating to creators who put out content online can give a person the feeling that they are truly engaged in community.
It wasn’t until I unplugged from the virtual world that I began to see how disconnected I truly had been from other humans.
During my screen detox, I formed authentic friendships in real life.
I spent time with my husband and children in meaningful ways.
And our family deeply engaged with our local church and community.
Need help connecting with your loved ones without screens? Grab my free printable Screen Free Family Bingo here:
Mood improved
Anyone else feel irritable during or after excessive time on devices? I know I did.
I felt annoyed when anyone tried to speak to me while I was on my smartphone and I felt agitated after a long, overstimulating session of aimlessly scrolling online.
But at the start of my screen detox, my mood vastly improved.
I was more prone to joy and gratitude.
My mental health improved and my focus shifted
Have you ever paused to consider how self-centered the concept of a “selfie” was meant to be? Listen, I have taken my fair share of them.
They can be nice photos especially when we pull our family in alongside us as well.
But generally speaking, our “selfies” and our social media profiles are often used to keep us self-focused.
We’d been sold a false promise of connectedness, but mostly we end up feeling lonely and disconnected from the very people under our roof when we spend hours of our day on “social” media platforms.
Our focus in the virtual world becomes about ourselves.
What we have to share, how we measure up compared to the people we follow, and how those people make us feel when they pay attention to our posts, don’t “like” our posts, or don’t include us in the outings they post about.
Online, we aim to share our highlight reel. The very best angle of us.
We take numerous photos but only post the most flattering one.
Our profiles can become like digital diaries about our thoughts, feelings, and struggles.
We look for validation in all the wrong places and our emotions fluctuate with the amount of “likes,” “messages,” and “follows,” we get or don’t get.
Not only is this mentally exhausting, it is also egocentric.
One awesome benefit of a screen detox is that it pushes you to start looking outward instead of inward.
Instead of perpetually scrolling and ignoring the real world around you, you begin to notice your neighbor as they water their lawn, the cashier as they bag your groceries, and the new person who sits in the back row at your church.
My screen detox was the jumping off point for a new lifestyle of screen free hospitality.
After I got rid of my smartphone, I started inviting people into our home for dinner, mailing handwritten letters to loved ones, making actual phone calls to check up on friends, and acknowledging strangers with a smile.
Parenting became easier
“Multitasking” or the illusion thereof is actually a very inefficient way to do things. Parenting was so hard for me when I was addicted to screens.
Children need eye contact, affirmation, a listening ear, and a whole lot of love and guidance.
These things are very challenging to give in the measure that our kids need when we are distracted by devices.
Doing a screen detox showed me how hard my phone had made motherhood.
So much so that I chose to get rid of my iPhone altogether and switch to a “dumbphone” instead.
That was 7 years ago and I have never looked back.
Operating with a low-tech phone in this modern world has been 100% worth every inconvenience when I consider the surplus of relational value I have gained with my children in the last seven years.
I like my kids better when I am not on screens. And the reverse is true as well.
I am a better mama now than I was on tech.
Parenting is a lot easier for me now because of that initial screen detox and my choice to pursue undistracted motherhood moving forward.
I went outside more
I am not a naturally outdoorsy person but the benefits of daily time outside are clear. Humans need sunlight.
We need the good sensory input of grass, sand, and dirt on our feet, the sounds of birds chirping in our ears, and the view of a pink and orange sunset in our eyes.
Time in nature soothes the soul.
It is usually one of the first things to go when a person is hauled up inside, scrolling, and addicted to electronic devices.
During my screen detox, I needed to find ways to pass the time with my young children.
We started going outside for several hours each day.
Not only did my kid’s behavior vastly improve when they were given unstructured play time outdoors, my mood and mental health got exponentially better as well.
I read more
Why read a physical copy of a beautiful book when you can binge watch a series of YouTube videos?
Books are not nearly as appealing as fast paced online entertainment, but the benefits of reading are endless.
While screens leave us overstimulated, reading leaves us relaxed.
A good book can reduce stress, make you laugh, help you sleep better, improve your memory, and sharpen your focus.
Throughout my screen detox, I made a practice of reading actual books again.
I created instead of consuming
Years of screen time can strip your creativity and leave you stagnant. When devices are always an option, you tend to turn to them frequently to fill every moment of boredom or discomfort.
During my screen detox, this was not an possibility.
Instead of scrolling I planned, dreamed, wrote, and drew.
I experimented with new recipes and came up with creative solutions to clutter problems in our home.
The beauty of a screen detox is that during one you are pushed out of your comfort zone.
At first, it is uncomfortable to live without an electronic device as an extra appendage.
You are forced to fill your time with something.
Without screens, you learn how to be a creator instead of a consumer.
What is a screen detox?
A screen detox is when you take a break from any or all technology that has been causing problems in your life. This could include putting away smartphones, laptops, iPads, tablets, televisions, video games, and abstaining from social media for a period of time.
Why should you do a screen detox?
Noticing negative effects of screen time on yourself as an adult? Excessive device usage is not just a problem for children.
If your screen time report startles you and you are suffering from “too much screen time” symptoms such as low quality sleep, brain fog, increased psychological issues, or losing track of time online, a screen detox may be exactly what you need to reboot.
How long does screen detox take?
I experienced nearly instantaneous benefits on day one of my screen detox. Depending on your level of tech usage and screen addiction, the amount of time you will want to do a screen detox will vary. I have seen great success in doing a screen detox for one day, one week, two weeks, one month, and for a full summer.
How long should you avoid screens?
If you are able to take a two week break from screens, that is a great place to start. In two weeks, you will have given yourself a healthy level of separation from electronic devices.
By the end of this time period, you should be able to clearly identify the ways that excessive screen time negatively affects you.
After a two week screen detox, you can make a plan for how you would like to move forward, if you want to extend your detox, and what healthy screen time boundaries you want to put in place for the future.
Screen Detox Plan
Make the commitment
Choose a block of time, preferably one to four weeks, for your screen detox. Write it on a physical paper calendar that everyone in your home can view. Keep a permanent marker handy to X off each day as you go. It feels great to visually measure your progress.
Set up enjoyable activities
Come up with enjoyable activities in advance that you can enjoy during your screen detox. Plan to visit a new place, have tea with friend, host a family over for dinner, and enjoy an activity with your loved ones.
If you plan to do a four week screen detox, plan one special activity per week to look forward to.
Remove electronic devices
This is the easiest and most important part of your screen detox. Get the tech out of sight and out of mind.
Shove your phone in the closet, hide the laptop in the basement, unplug TV’s, and send the video games to grandma’s house if you need to.
Do whatever it takes to get devices out of your eyeline during your screen detox.
Block temptations
Go to great lengths to ensure success on your screen detox. For me, that has meant asking my husband to block certain websites from our Wi-Fi altogether.
For you, this could mean deleting social media apps from your phone or even unplugging your Wi-Fi router altogether.
Seek Accountability
If you are a screen time addict, confide in your spouse or a trusted friend.
Share your screen detox goal and ask them to hold you accountable.
When I am working on any kind of goal, I like to ask my husband to check in and ask me how it is going. Knowing that he will check in motivates me all the more to stay faithful to my goal.
Replace Screen Time
It isn’t enough to stop a bad habit, you also need to find positive things to replace it with. During your screen detox, swap screen time for reading, outdoor activities, quality time with friends and family, church involvement, creative projects, journaling, rekindling old hobbies, and learning new skills.
Take Care of Yourself
When we are tired, we are vulnerable. When we skimp on sleep, exercise, and nutrition, we are more likely to slip into negative old habits.
During your screen detox, prioritize waking up early and getting fresh air and sunshine.
Drink plenty of water. Make a point to go to bed early with a good book.
The more you take care of your mental health by prioritizing things like sleep and nutrition, the more likely you will be to succeed in your screen detox goal.
Don’t Stop at the End
Don’t let the end of your screen detox be the end of your battle against screen addiction. Use your detox as a jumping off point to set healthy boundaries moving forward.
You might realize, like I did, that you like life a whole lot better without a smartphone. Great! Build on that momentum and do not hesitate to upgrade your personal life by downgrading your smartphone.
Lite Phones and generic flip phones are great options for plugged-in people who want to live an undistracted life.
Perhaps you will realize during your screen detox that social media is no longer adding value to your life. Delete it and start connecting with humans more in-person.
Maybe your time off electronics will help you to see that you’d rather spend your time on things other than video games. Sell the console and use the money for an enjoyable experience.
Whatever your particular virtual struggle is, use your screen detox to make lasting changes in your life. Don’t stop at the end.
Need help reducing screen time for your kids? I’ve got you:
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