When this post goes live, I will be on vacation. And if all goes according to plan, I will be far from my phone.
Why? Because to restore my mind and pull myself back to the present, I know I need to unplug periodically.
A month ago, I put myself on a 36-hour break from tech. No phone, no laptop, from Saturday night until Monday morning. When I turned on my phone just before 6am I saw I had missed only two texts and zero phone calls. I had received relatively few emails, none of which required an immediate response. When I think about how much time I would have spent during those 36 hours, checking Facebook or Instagram, going online to look up one thing and soon having 10 browser tabs open looking at all sorts of other stuff, sending emails or text messages and then checking (repeatedly) for responses... yuck.
It's not that I want to give up my phone or laptop altogether. On the contrary, I love using technology to write, read, learn, connect and shop! It's just that I can get out of balance and it's nice to take a break from time to time.
If you've been spending a little too much time with your head down, put down the phone, look up, and be present. Sure, you might miss out an invitation to do something fun, a great deal from your favorite retailer, or a question from a friend. But by keeping your eyes glued to the screen without a break, you might miss out on much more.
We'll be fine without you for a few hours. Unplug.
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