10 Steps to Curb & Repair Your iAddiction
My name is Lauren Imparato and I am an addict. To my phone. In fact, I am an iAddict, and bet you are too.
iAddiction has become the modern life norm. Although it can be difficult to self discern, there are some obvious signs of gadget dependency perhaps you can relate to with me:
-When you wake up, you take a stretch, roll over, and immediately reach for your phone checking all the social channels and your email before you get out from under the covers.
-You pick up your phone at least once during dinner to check the news, email or social media, and pretend to ignore how annoyed your dining partner is when you do so.
-Your evening prayer is cleaning out your inbox.
-You refresh your email at a minimum of once ever half hour.
-You turn to your phone as an escape from your work, boss, the kids, commuters around you.
-You check how many people have like social post more times than likes you actually have.
-You can walk a few blocks while staring at your phone and not even notice how you got from point A to point B, except for maybe that bruise.
Yes, technology is amazing, but it disrupts our true nature, from moods to creativity, productivity, sex drive, sleep patterns, relationships with bosses & loved ones, metabolism and straight up happiness.
Superficially, it may appear that we are constantly on the phone with good reason. But the more we ignorantly grasp for intangible pleasure, the less we really tangible have; the more we look outward, the less we gaze inward, were our real nature and gratification lie. The more we search for intangible satisfaction, the less we will have tangible happiness.
To help you beat iAddiction and find real happiness, right here, right now, I am officially intervening for both us and diving in to this 12 Step RETOX™ Digital Detox Program. After all, are you living for likes or liking to live?
Implement these first 10 steps for a realistic way to digitally detox throughout the day, every day.
1. Turn the phone off or into Airplane mode before you go to bed.
2. Shower and get dressed before you check your email.
3.) Resist the urge to check social media during a meeting or dinner, especially dinner. Just don’t do it! It’s rude AND annoying.
4.) Buy a real newspaper or magazine and get your fingers dirty from the ink.
5.) Leave your phone at home or at the office on at least one walk or errand a day. And maybe leave it in a drawer every 1 day a week, for instance, Sunday Funday.
6.) Delete All Non Essential Apps. You will forget about them in a day, I promise.
7.) Turn off all Push Notifications. Do you REALLY need to know right now??
8.) Stare into space at least a minute a day.
9.) Buy a paper book… RETOX anyone? 🙂
10.) Say something to or smile at someone random on the street or in a shop.
Now, this isn’t hard at all, is it? And I promise you, separating from your phone without sacrificing your career or personal life is possible. Just close your eyes, even if only for a split second, take a breath, and let your brain absorb what you just learned. After all, tangible happiness will always beat intangible scrolling.
Originally published at medium.com