A week without screen time? Why the hell would anyone like to do such a challenge anyway?
Well, unfortunately, I had no other option… I have dreamed a long time about life without glasses – swimming, traveling, being outside when it is raining, doing sports, or anything else carefree. So yeah I had an eye operation… to see normally again, without glasses. A week after an operation I had some limits. Not to do any kind of sports and very very limited screen time – in overall to have some rest. The goal was – to see like an eagle again.
“A week without screen time?” What the hell are you doing then? Well, I have ears (thank god), So I decided to use them. I started to listen to audios”
What did I do during the week, when I can’t scroll social media, watch Youtube videos, or just write on a computer? There are some challenges and yes, discoveries that I experienced during the week.
Firstly some Challenges
In this modern world, everything important is on the computer or phone. I mean I have work computer-based, all documents, notes and now school as well. Our life is so influenced by computers. Impossible to live a normal life without online devices (crazy to think about that). To deal with these challenges I took a vacation from work, did my last exam and I was good to go.
Our website is also, surprise-surprise, web-based. I also had no chance to deal with it. There are many things to do, so during the week, there was only one head to manage our system. Luckily, we managed to release a new section. Right before we both got busy (with a week without screen time and work responsively). In the end, all the things went well during the week and luckily we weren’t attacked by hackers.
Some Logical & Unusual Discoveries
I have to thank the innovators who invented these kinds of things like audiobooks and podcasts or anything that are hearable – you guys are lifesavers. I was listening on my week without screen time so many different podcasts about investing, leadership, TED Talks, interviews with top people, about the best football club in the world (Chelsea), and so on. The only time I was watching the screen was when I switched podcasts on Spotify. There are so many different topics available to listen and I’m sure that everybody will find something beneficial for themselves.
Listen these inspiring podcasts!
With Boredom, Ideas Start to Flow
I listened to a TED Talk podcast, where one smart researcher said that we shouldn’t avoid boredom and instead of that do some unimportant stuff like scrolling social media. The brain needs some rest from attention, from seeing what others do, or from the news. As they say, it’s impossible to multitask, then it’s pretty logical that you can’t let your ideas flow, because your attention is somewhere else.
Without knowing I’m participating voluntarily in this experiment, I can tell that this lady was right. My ideas were blowing like the wind on the windy beach. I haven’t had that many great and rational ideas for a while and I’m more optimistic about my future. Even these mini-attention-free moments are good for peacefulness. So next time, instead of pointless scrolling, have some rest for your brain. Usually, we feel weird if we are not doing anything. DON´T.
Full Rest
A week without any thoughts about work, school, emails, or seeing what friends do or where they go – Sounds like a full vacation. And it was! It’s probably the best discovery I made during the week – You can have a real vacation, when there is no attention from world news (mostly these are in a negative tone), no checking work email, having no tasks from school or any attention from social media. This is how it looks a week without screen time.
My stress level is near zero and thanks to the weather as well. I don’t remember the last time when I rested so well.
I have this weird fear of missing something out. I feel that I have to do something important throughout the day, otherwise, I feel regret that I haven’t done anything important. I believe I’m not the only one with this problem. Now after one week and looking back I feel that it caused me so much pointless stress.
I didn’t have any duties, but only had time for myself, listening to podcasts and not worrying about anything. After doing nothing important and just resting for a while I feel great. That is a real vacation!
Why the heck to do a Week Without Screen Time?
Well, you don’t need eye surgery to have an excuse or duty to this. It can be in a shorter period like two or three days. I know it might be a bit extreme to do it the whole week because we depend on computers so much. But results are better when you do it in a longer period.
Do I need to be online all the time to message, check email, or again scroll? You are your boss when it comes to attention. You can be reached by call when there is a big need to catch you. It’s always good to have these kinds of mini-vacations from attention and the web because you never know when life hits you and when you shut down from burnout.
A week without screen time… You have to try that out!
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