Offline Days
Introduction
As 2021 blazes past us (its April already!!), there is an increasing number of people realizing the effects of digital fatigue. It’s the looming reality of another Zoom meeting, or the lack of access to the outdoors because of restrictions. It’s the jittery sensation that we all get when we are not in the know or can’t get information right away. Digital fatigue is real and it is here to stay, bringing a plethora of issues to our world if we are not careful on how we manage it.
I started to experiencing digital fatigue around 2019 when my job moved from being 8 hours of outside work and human interaction overload, to a split of a 4 hour day filled with correspondence, content creation, and planing for online meetings, and 4 hours of customer interaction. Since then, I have been concerned about my eyesight, my levels of energy throughout the day, and ultimately about the overall time I spend in front of digital devices. The 2020 crisis brought me even more hours in front digital sources. It was not a 4 hour day in front of the screen anymore, it was 6 or 7 hours, since now my face to face interactions switched to Zoom instead of the real world. For me, it has been tough. It has created a social void that until January I was unable to fill.
The Idea
That’s when I started to play around with the idea of “offline days.” Essentially for the last 6–8 weeks, I have been giving myself 2 offline days per week. I grab my personal phone (a Light Phone 2), leave my laptop at home and all other digital devices, and decide to step out into the world without any access to online media. I bring a book, a journal, and usually a rubix cube to the outdoor coffee shop near my house and spend 4 to 6 hours there. When I get bored of frequenting the aroma filled environment, I look up the nearest park or outdoor location and enjoy the quietness and peace that nature brings to all of those who seek it. And to tell you the truth, it has been changing the way I work, I feel, and I think. Here are some tips for you to start establishing your offline days.
Plan for Offline
I am aware that not all of us have 2 free days per week in our jobs. Some are lucky to even have a day off in the current industry environment. Thus, I am privileged in this manner. Yet, I am certain that all of us have some sort of free time during our work week and to that free time is where I want to turn the attention to. Most of my friends find solace and relaxation in watching movies, shows, or consuming other online content. It can manifest itself in Netflix sessions, listening to the news, or just doom scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. Instead, make a list of offline activities you enjoy partaking of. It could be playing soccer, knitting, or the proverbial art of reading books (we all need to read more right?). Whatever that offline hobby is, take some time to enjoy the possibility of being away from your devices and create new memories with friends, engage in deep thought about life, or just rest in the middle of a park. These offline activities will help you create a separation from the magnetic compulsiveness of the screen. It will give you the necessary distance to see that the world is larger than the world wide web.
After making the list of activities, plan around your online time. If you only have one day off or a couple of hours per day, consciously make the step to disassociate yourself from all online activities. Close WhatsApp, shut down your browser, and if you have an old feature phone or a newer one, switch your SIM card to it. This will create barriers between the screen and your life and allow you to regain some control.
Control your schedule
There are quite a lot of methods out there to figure out your schedule. A favorite of mine is time blocking. Essentially, its a way to plan your work in batches throughout your day (see image).
As the image reflects, you block your time and try to give your undivided attention to the task that you wrote down. This is just one of the steps to control your schedule, however. As we all know, we can be working and doing plenty of other things at the same time. In order to curb my distractions from the online world, I use the StayFocusd extension on my browser to make sure I am only visiting work related websites during my work hours. This creates a boundary between the notification game and my hours of productivity. If StayFocusd is not enough for you, you can try freedom.to, being that it is a paid service, it may provide that extra boost for you to remain committed.
Forgive yourself
As a final suggestion, I want to invite you to forgive yourself. It is quite easy to blame all of your usage and compulsion on your lack of “self-control.” If you have ever felt like this, I want to remind you that you are not alone and that it is not simply “your fault.”
Remember, the brightest minds in the world, hired by the big tech companies are the ones creating the algorithms, suggestions, and wonderful content out there that keeps a lot of us glued to the screen.
It is quite important for us to realize that we are battling against thousands of people wanting to keep us connected just 5 more minutes.
If you plan accordingly, however, you will be able to determine the time you want to spend online and offline. And that is the biggest power move you have on the big tech conglomerates. You have the power after all.
Until the next online day,
Jose Briones :)
