Digital Detox : My Secret to Peace of Mind

I am the kind of person who is more focused on my mental health than anything else. Because of that, I always research things that improve a person's mental health. One of the things I started doing that has significantly improved my mental health is digital detox. It is the act of ghosting or minimizing the use of digital tools like our phones, and computers and staying disconnected from the internet.

As someone whose daily work depends on all these digital tools, some might see it impossible to get rid of the tools but I have managed to do that on several occasions. In the subsequent sections of this post, I will share how and why I manage to stay disconnected when I want to.

The How

My work requires me to always be with my computer at any time as I work as a front-end developer with a lot of pressure at work. Despite the pressure at work, I try to set some time aside for myself on random days and during these times, I get rid of all my digital devices. I make sure I do this frequently, especially on the weekend.
One more strategy I have started using is to stay away from my phone four hours after I wake up. This means that on work days, as soon as I wake up, I brush my teeth, go for fajr prayer, prepare for work, and report to work before I start using my phone. This is something I am not fully practicing at the moment because, some days, I want to listen to podcasts or TED talks on my way to work which is about a 45-minute ride on average.

The Why

To put the why in one sentence, it is for my time, relationship, sleep, and peace of mind. I realized that, anytime I stay away from the screen, I experience a level of peace of mind and I feel like I have all the time in the world. Someone said that you never realized your time in this modern world until you put down your phone. I couldn't agree more to this. I have read countless research in this matter and the more I explore the benefits of digital detox, the more I feel the urge to stay away from my devices.

When it comes to its help in building relationships, I don't think I need to explain this again, during my disconnected times, I have all the time to think about my loved ones, talk to them, and build more cordial relationships.

I had a lot the say about this topic but to make my entry not too long for my readers, I would love to conclude here and urge you to practice the habit of minimizing your screen time if you are not doing that now.

NB: cover image belongs to me.