This week my husband and I have challenged ourselves to remove all screens from our lives after 4:30pm. This includes phones, computers, and TVs. I thought that this would not be that difficult seeing as I had given up Instagram for 6 weeks back in May. This has actually proven to be quite challenging, as I find my most productive hours for planning and preparing come in the evening after I have put the kids to bed. However, having a lot of time to connect with my family without interruptions from text messages, social media, or fleeting thoughts that come in and out of my mind has been really delightful.
I find that eliminating screens in the evening, has helped me to create more headspace. The evenings are now filled with reading, yoga, and games. Our conversations have solid eye contact and I plan meals, activities, and think through logistics with paper and pencil in hand and without being pulled from a thought process with a fleeting distraction.
There is an excellent podcast from Hidden Brain about the importance of deep work and how constantly being interrupted from our work causes a bigger problem then we realize.
In the beginning of the week, I wondered what we were going to do every evening. Previously, our family has had a designated day or two to catch up on our shows and watch football games together. I found that the first night felt really great to actually make time to sit and read a book, something that I never get around to doing. The second night provided an opportunity for my husband and I to sit and have a lengthy and in-depth conversation about things that just get overshadowed in the chaos of day to day life. The remaining days allowed for extra long snuggles with the kiddos at bedtime and an earlier bedtime for me. During my digital detox, I found found that I was giving more quality time to my kids. Often, I felt like I needed to rush out of their room after stories and snuggles to go watch a show, catch up on my Instagram, or hang with the hubby.
This challenge of doing a digital detox has made the afternoon hours crazier but I do feel as though my hours in the late morning and early afternoon are more productive and more intentional. In addition, because I have a deadline each day, when essentially all of my work needs to be done, I feel like I am able to do a better job of executing. Sometimes I just keep planning and never execute. It's a pretty powerful feeling when I feel like I can just crank out tasks and cross things off of my list. It's almost a bit of an adrenaline rush.
This is a Better7 challenge that I would like to continue doing, perhaps with a few modifications but definitely worth continuing.
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