QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AFTER A DIGITAL DETOX

When was the last time you spent a week completely away from your mobile phone, laptop, social media, and email?

Last week I chartered a catamaran with friends in the Virgin Islands. I knew I wouldn’t have cell coverage on the boat so I took a Digital Detox week and unplugged.

How did it make you feel?

At first, it was hard to completely unplug. When I arrived at my hotel in St. John there was free wi-fi for guests. I did have to connect and check email, add punctuation to my last blog post, and send a text to our friends that were coming on the vacation with us. After that, I fully went into airplane mode. The next day I had to turn it on again to communicate with the Catamaran Charter company because we were running late. Once we were on the boat my husband and I disconnected completely for seven days.

Did the world survive?

Haha! I had no idea what was happening in the world! I felt carefree and lost track of the time and the days. My only concern was about our elderly dog and if he was doing ok while we were away.

Do you feel like you can truly unplug?

I wasn’t sure I could. This vacation taught me that I spend too much time on my phone and social media. After a few days of being unplugged, I know I need to do it more often and not just on vacations. Once a week might become a normal unplug day in my routine. I actually began to focus more on the views and people around me. Coming back from this digital detox I find I need to limit my time on social media and create a time management plan. I don’t want to be that girl always on her phone with her husband or friends at a restaurant. Coming home, I started to fall back into old habits. When I first wake up in the mornings I get coffee and grab my phone. Before I know it, I’ve spent hours on social media. Reading, writing, and exercising is a better use of my time in the morning. It’s time to change old habits.

What about your connections with friends and family, Did you connect more with them on your vacation?

Definitely! None of us had cell coverage while on the catamaran. We played games at night, drank cocktails, engaged in conversation and laughed a lot! My husband and I talked about all the places we want to travel too and should we purchase a boat!

New friends? When traveling are you open to meeting new people and making friends?

Absolutely! We met people from Colorado at Foxy’s! It is such a small world. We enjoyed getting to know our Captain and Crew on the boat too! They became our new friends.

Did you gain more time to do or try new things?

I love to read but seldom have the time to get lost in a novel. It was great to read a book by one of my favorite authors. We snorkeled, took naps, and sailed during the day. I never take naps!

In a world where we can be connected 24/7 and it seems the world expects us to be, even our jobs.

My husband usually has a hard time disconnecting from work. He runs a team of sales people and there is always a deal and people calling him non-stop. Even on vacations he takes calls and writes emails. On this trip, he couldn’t. He had one of the best vacations he has ever had.

This is the first time I have left social media for a full week as a blogger and writer. I feel more renewed to write about the places I visited and want to share them with others. Before I left, I was concerned about followers unfollowing me because I didn’t have fresh, new content every day. On Instagram, I lost about 30 followers or so. Twitter remained the same as well as Facebook. A digital detox is important to everyone no matter what they do in life.

Do you feel like you ever can fully disconnect and take a device detox?

Before this trip, I wasn’t so sure but after this trip, I will make this a yearly goal on vacation. One digital detox vacation a year.

Did you suffer any problems from disconnecting?

None at all. It took a long time to get through my emails but the trip was so worth it.

5 Tips for Unplugging

1. Tell everyone you are completely unplugging. Provide a method for family members to reach you in the case of an emergency.
2. Work hard the week before to try to get everything done before you unplug. That way you will feel more relaxed once you begin your vacation.
3. Turn your phone to airplane mode! You can still use your camera. Take in the views, enjoy the scenery, and take lots of photographs!
4. Just do it! It is pretty freeing once you get used to it. Try it for a day if you can’t spare a week. A spa day is a great way to disconnect too! Just leave your phone off and in the locker.
5. Take a vacation that forces you to unplug. For instance, cruise or boat you don’t have service at sea. Don’t buy the wi-fi plans! Go to a destination where you don’t have service.

GET UNPLUGGED

1. 

   I’ve got my Veuve and Goldie Swan

   I want you to try a digital detox and let me know how it goes!  It gave me a sense of freedom and all my cares melted away. I was more in tune with everything around me and my time with friends was enriched. 

   Bonnie

   

   Can you unplug for a week? Take a Digital Detox Vacation