My 3 Favorite Ways to Unplug

Sharing 3 ways I’m learning to cut down on my social media use without damaging my social life.

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As part of my 18 for 2018 goals list, I challenged myself to take 4 intermittent social media breaks for the year. Back in March I completed my first social media free weekend and detailed the strength of will I had to practice for an entire 48 hours without Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You can read those revelations here if you’re interested.

As we enter the fourth quarter of the year, I realized that I haven’t made good on the promise to myself to detach from all things social media. To be frank with y’all, after that first weekend back in March I knew I wouldn’t be scratching that goal off my list. However, I have made efforts to cut down on my tech habits and still be functioning member of society. How, you might ask? Well you’re in luck, today I’m sharing 3 ways you can unplug from your phone without damaging your social life.

My 3 Favorite Ways to Unplug

1// Set a bedtime for your phone. Sounds silly, I know, but this actually works and is something that I implemented when I was pregnant with Remy as a way to get better sleep. You can do this by going in to your “Settings” and scheduling your “Do No Disturb” hours.

The Do Not Disturb option on the iPhone stops notifications, alerts and calls from making any noise, vibration or lighting up your screen when the screen is locked. Be aware that this setting only has an effect if your phone is locked. Something else to take note of is that this option doesn’t have an effect on your alarms; any set alarms will still sound while Do Not Disturb is activated so you won’t oversleep;) My Do Not Disturb hours are from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

2// Hit snooze then turn it off. Does anyone still use an actually alarm clock? I don’t think so – we all use our phones which only perpetuates the early morning ‘social browse’ we all do in bed before we get our day started. Two days a week I make it a point to hit the snooze button, get out of bed (to ensure I don’t fall back asleep), switch off my phone, slip it in my bag and get my day started without the distraction of my phone.

Emails (both personal and professional) can wait until you get into the office. Social media can too, especially while driving. Instead of reaching for your phone as soon as you wake up, leverage that time to properly prepare for the day!

3// There’s an app for that. Downloading an app to detach from technology seems counter-intuitive but it actually works! Apps like Pause, Offtime and Clearlock allow you to temporarily block distracting apps for a duration of time of your choosing. These types of tools are a great way to keep your smartphone habits in check while breaking down exactly how much time you have been spending on your favorite social media apps.

With the newest iOS 12 update, iPhones now have a Screen Time feature which is designed to provide you with information on how you’re using your phone. You can also set scheduled downtime to restrict yourself from using certain social networking apps. This way you can set specific time limits on app categories like social networking or games.

Tell me, do you have any tips or tricks for doing a digital detox?