Simple Ways To Power down and Complete a Smartphone Detox in a Week

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week- a perfect time to take care of yourself and your digital well-being.

In the era of smartphones, these powerful gadgets are calling for our attention daily and we usually find ourselves lost in digital distraction. We reach out to them from the very moment we open our eyes in the morning and we spend our days attached to them. In fact, smartphones are the most frequently used tech gadgets in the UK, Deloitte's survey found out. Almost 50% of the respondents of this study reported that they experience a constant need to check their phones.

Phone-Life Balance

We can all experience the benefits of not being attached to our phones all day every day, and creating what we like to call phone-life balance. We all need to take breaks from our phones now and again to create space in our lives to do something else other than checking social feeds and the news which can have a negative effect on our mental health over time.

How to Detox in 7 Days

We have prepared a simple 7-day guide on how to detox yourself from digital distraction and how you can reclaim your phone-life balance:

Returning to Your Phone the Smart Way

If after a week passes and you decide to return to your pre-detox on screen habits, there might not be any effect from your week long digital diet. A few mindful steps to follow include:

• Scheduling 'Do Not Disturb'- this setting is available on the majority of smartphones, and turning it on will help you disconnect from the digital world when you come home from work, or a few hours before bedtime.
• Turn push notifications off for most apps- this will minimise your temptation to constantly check your phone.
• Keep your charging station outside your bedroom- so that you will not feel the need to browse social media apps until you fall asleep.
• Use iPhone's Screen Time and App Limits to manage your phone use. Android has several Digital Well-being settings that will assist you to unwind.

Up for the Challenge?

You will not know just how addicted you are to using your phone until you stop using it. This challenge will assist you with establishing your digital boundaries. If you want to make this more fun, complete this challenge with a friend, family member or a colleague. Are you ready to detox from your digital life?

Let us know how you got on via Twitter or Facebook, we would love to hear your thoughts.