Digital Detox Sunday - a report \ stacker news ~alter

Today was another digital detox. I try to make it a regular thing on Sunday.

What I usually do is disable network access on my laptop (Powershell, then Disable-NetAdapter -Name "Wi-Fi" -confirm:$false), and turning on a limited minimalist launcher app called Slim Launcher on my phone, with just texting, phone, and a few other apps.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to not be dependent on online services for organizing your life. If you organize your life online, you're in trouble if you want to regularly be completely OFFLINE for a while. So this means - restricting use of things like Google docs, Dropbox, etc.
You don't need to run your own file server or anything. I've come back to the simplicity of text files, and love it. For organizing INSIDE the text files, I just use folding in Notepad++ (easy to do if you set up a user defined language). Or using markup might be a better way for many people to organize things.
It seems like I always manage to really connect with people on my digital detox day. Today was not an exception, I had planned a decently long hike with a friend. It didn't work out because my friend had an injury, but we still connected and had a great talk. It's a lot easier because I'm not always thinking about what I need to do online. Also played pickleball and had a swim. Pretty active day.
If you're worried that there may be something you absolutely MUST do online, then maybe have a spare old laptop available. Make sure it's a crappy one, slow and maybe with a cracked screen. It needs to be emergency only.
The benefits of a weekly detox are wide-ranging. There's the clarity of mind. There's the fact that your mind isn't leaping from one distraction to another. And key is that you're not constantly white-knuckling it, and using lot of willpower to corral your brain. Instead, you've restricted yourself so you "CAN'T" go online. Of course you CAN, it would just take some keystrokes, but that difficulty is enough to remind you - "hey wait a minute, I don't actually WANT to be online". It's like - if you want to stop smoking, you don't use willpower to do it, and keep the cigarettes on the countertop. You flush them down the toilet, that way your chances are much better.
You'll probably get a lot of things done that have been bugging you for a while. This will make your life better.
A digital detox is not a punishment. Consider making sure that you can access music, without needing to be online - i.e. no streaming! Forget Spotify. Rip some CDs, or do whatever you need to do, to have some music.

34 sats \ 1 reply \ @LibertasBR 23h

It’s good to see you’re getting results. Could you share roughly what your digital consumption looks like? Just to understand where you’re applying this detox. In my case, I spent a day without using online elements for several hours during a family outing, and it was very rewarding and memorable to be disconnected for that long. However, I should point out that I did use messaging apps to stay in touch with family for coordination, so it wasn’t a complete detox, I imagine.

I’m planning to do a full one soon, even restricting myself from using the phone’s camera.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 23h

I'm on a laptop, most of the day - for work, for things like stacker news, more generalized entertainment.

I'm not too bad on my phone - I don't have any of the social apps installed, and just don't spend that much time on it. And when I'm out and about, I try to make a point of NOT being on my phone, unlike almost everyone else.

Messaging apps are tricky. Right now I'm using only sms for texting. I'm not a fan of it at all, though, and so don't find it addictive. But everyone uses it to plan get-togethers, so it seems it's either - text, or don't get together with people.

I use Slim Launcher, but apparently there's other launcher apps that make it easy to just allow usage of a few apps, and limit everything else.

34 sats \ 1 reply \ @Undisciplined 2 Jun

Similar to how I prefer daily intermittent fasting to doing full days less often, I try to carve out time during the day to be offline and device free.

That might just be walking the dog or reading a real book, but you’re definitely right about the mental benefits.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 OP 2 Jun

I've been thinking about doing some shorter digital detoxes, during the week. Like - a solid morning or afternoon/evening with no internet.

It definitely feels good to do a whole day, though. Actually I posted this in the evening - not quite a whole day.

34 sats \ 0 replies \ @cristaiji 2 Jun

Thanks for this. I've been trying various approaches too - removing apps from my devices, going on long walks, meditation etc. Well worth the effort to spend time without devices and the internet.

34 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 2 Jun

Love to hear about these reports, keep em coming