Get off-line and Get a life

If there's one thing that annoys me every time I walk along a street, it's people walking towards me while staring at their phones. They're not even looking where they're going, and they have no idea I'm even there. So I wait until they're within a few steps of walking straight into me, and I yell," Look out!"

It's funny to see how much they jump, but it's also annoying that they are so inconsiderate (and stupid). 

A few days ago, I was in the food court at a local shopping mall, and there was a young woman at the next table, staring constantly at her phone. She wouldn't take her eyes off it for even a second. Sadly, she had her young daughter with her, who was desperately trying to get her mother's attention, even standing by her side, hugging her arm, and talking to her. But the woman ignored the child completely. It was as though she'd forgotten she even had a child. It was sad to watch.

But it's not just phones that people are addicted to. It's tablets and computers as well. This technology, originally designed to save us time, now seems to take up all our time. If we let it.

The truth is that phones, tablets and computers are mostly used as a distraction, because while we're "busy" online, we ignore everything else. And I'm not much different from most people. Once I start searching online, I can easily get lost down a rabbit hole and end up looking at things not even remotely connected to what I was originally searching for.

To stop myself from doing this (because it can happen often), I began doing what I call a Digital Detox. When I want to look at social media, I do a timed session for 25 minutes maximum. I've set 25-minute screen allowances on my phone and computer settings. I also take breaks from social media and news for a week or two at a time, because these sites can end up being depressing.

Entrepreneur Derek Sivers says he is now offline 23 hours a day, which he says improves his productivity as well as his mental clarity. https://sive.rs/off23 

I've also recently read about the benefits of being offline for most of the day, and I agree with them all, including Reclaiming Time, Mindfulness, Enhanced Physical Health, Increased Productivity and Focus, and Stronger Relationships.

I now spend most of my time disconnected from the internet, and it feels good. I sleep better, I can think more clearly, I'm (a little) less anxious, and I have more time every day.

I'm also much more creative when my mind is free to think. There may be a lot of ideas that can be found online, but they're not good ones, so I don't need to look up everything.

At the moment, I'm experimenting with only being online 2 hours a day max. A one-hour block of time in the morning and a one-hour block in the afternoon. And no internet whatsoever in the evening.

Being so limited with my online time not only keeps me focused while I'm online, but also keeps me focused when I'm offline because I can't look for answers, so it makes me think for myself more.

And I find I make better decisions.