How successful have you been with disconnecting?

[CitricScion]

Every so often I think about having a digital detox day, but it's hard to do when you're surrounded by tech and live with others who aren't as interested in joining you in the experiment.

Have you tried going a day or more without using a certain piece of technology? How did it go for you? What did you learn? What steps did you take or would you take next time to be more successful?

[rejectconvenience]

I mentioned this in a previous video, but I spent 1 week off any internet connecting devices, and honestly, after how drained I am from this week, I want to do it again soon - it certainly has it's perks. I think next time, I'd aim to balance things a lot better. I went out of town and that seems a little too extreme. I'd love to be able to do it where I live, you know?

[CitricScion]

That sounds really nice. I'm thinking about how to do something like that soon, but it's tough.

What I have done in the past, intentionally or unintentionally, is ghost services that are causing me anxiety. Like, when a certain social media platform or community is becoming too much for me, I just ghost them for a few days and it feels like I've reset a little bit. Sometimes in ghosting the source of anxiety or stress the anxiety builds in the opposite direction and then I don't want to go back for fear of what I will find, lol. It's a small way of getting away when I can't do something bigger, but I guess it only looks like that in retrospect.

[rejectconvenience]

I saw a Dankpods video a while back where he suggested getting an eye mask and some headphones and just listening to music. Not being able to see helps you get in the groove, and I've actually found it to also be really helpful for relaxing (as silly as it might look)

[CitricScion]

Yo, I can absolutely imagine that happening! I have to try that on a day I have the house to myself.

[JINSBEK]

Generally, I’ve been pretty good about disconnecting. When I was still a healthcare worker (I used to work in a hospital), I spent my downtime either working on fiction, drawing, or writing movie reviews to post on my old personal website. All my other co-workers were glued to their phones any time there was a lull, but I was too busy being an excited hobbyist gamedev, I guess. When I quit healthcare and became an apprentice butcher, there was really no time and space to use a smartphone, so even when we had our breaks, I just went outside and did cartwheels. When I got off work, I went to the gym, painted, played video games, and did scrapbooking in my bullet journal. On my weekends, I biked.

My biggest problem came from when I started working for tech start-ups and went as a fully-remote travelling worker. That… required me to be on top of technology. All the time. There was no home-office separation, and thus, no work-life balance. I’m now weaning myself off of a year and a half of that, and the biggest hurdle for me has just been the geographical distance between me and my fiancée (she’s still awaiting VISA approval). Discord was the best way to keep in touch with no barriers. But, I have all these other things on my smartphone that also want my attention… Notifications from everywhere, let alone other Discord servers. That was hellish.

Also, my city is always full of events, so Facebook kept suggesting events to go to… I wasn’t doomscrolling like a lot of other people, funnily enough. I was FOMOing into vintage fests and volunteer work and raves LMAO. Yeah that was fun but not sustainable.

Since being glued to our smartphones has been negatively impacting both of us, she and I have switched to email and Skype calls only. As soon as we got into that routine, everything was smooth sailing for us, techwise.

[CitricScion]

I do see notifications get talked about a lot as part of the struggle with living intentionally, but that's never been a pain point for me because I aggressively manage what can notify me and in what way. Android has been great for that - it's actually the number one reason I could never consider an iPhone.

Do you guys do this? I can make a new thread for this as well if it's too off-topic.

[rejectconvenience]

I mean I do it more as a side effect of not having anything that can notify me haha

[JINSBEK]

I do see notifications get talked about a lot as part of the struggle with living intentionally, but that's never been a pain point for me because I aggressively manage what can notify me and in what way. Android has been great for that - it's actually the number one reason I could never consider an iPhone.

Do you guys do this? I can make a new thread for this as well if it's too off-topic.

Completely turning off notifications isn’t an option for me, because I need to know when my packages are delivered. I’ve suffered stolen packages before, because many times, the carrier isn’t the most professional—leaving parcels on the steps outside of the lobby, allowing anyone from outside the building to steal. Ideally the carrier contacts me via the ButterflyMX app, and I can either remotely give them access to the apartment lobby and secure mailroom, or just go downstairs and greet them myself to retrieve my package.

I don’t have annoying notifications from other apps anymore, because they are either not installed on my phone, or, I’ve blocked them during certain times and locations.