Phones. We all have them. Let me guess, we are also all probably on them more than we would like.
Additional daily situations we are accompanied by our phones:
A - The first thing you do when you wake up, go on your phone.
B - When we feel like there is nothing to do, phone time!
C - When we feel awkward in a social situation, we turn to our phones.
Phones have heavily become our crutch to stimulate all sorts of feelings. They help us escape from the present moment within a matter of seconds.
I can’t say I live a phone-free life because what kind of teenager today does, but I do like to think that I am trying to be more intentional with the time I spend on it.
Why?
I leave a session with my phone feeling more tired. It feels draining. It didn’t even feel like an actual break. I feel guilty with my time since instead of doing something where I could have left feeling refreshed, I chose the easier route.
I realized how I felt after I would spend hour(s) scrolling on Instagram (or TikTok) without even realizing it's been way past five minutes.
Hopefully, at this point, you are raising your hand to gesture “I’ve felt that way" but if not, that’s ok too. Whether you have or you haven’t, we all deserve to give ourselves time away from our phones.
My go-to phone-free experience was in the summer when I would spend two months (away at overnight camp) from my phone. Not until I came back to my phone would I realize how lucky I was to get a real break from it.
Since the summer is nearly over, start with an hour a day, (physically) away from your phone...
Taking time off (and away from) the phone will allow you to take a step back and focus on yourself. When you distance yourself from this device, you’ll see how liberating it feels to not be so attached.
Wishing from some activities that you can start doing today without your phone and feel refreshed after doing so? You are in the right place!
Instead of leaning towards your phone, try:
#1: Journalling
with the intention of writing something down and letting it go (this feels so relieving!)
or an encouraging letter to yourself.
#2: Meditation!
I get it if you think this sounds weird for teens but you have to trust me on this one!
I use a specific daily approach from a course (linked here) focused on teaching practical meditation for busy people (you + me!).
The daily practice (15 minutes) involves taking two deep breaths, naming each of the five senses, and just regulating your thoughts. Letting them flow, not judging them, letting them go away and new ones come. The creator of the course explains it much better than me so definitely check it out (+ the first three days are for FREE!).
#3 Reading
A book you enjoy. Something that makes you feel good after reading it. My go-to are Rom-Com’s i.e. Beach Read, Delicious!, or The Hating Game (I just started this!).
By reading, you are allowing your brain to focus on one thing at a time. This can be so refreshing and the perfect break you may need!
Which option (1-3) sounds most enjoyable to you? It definitely doesn’t hurt to try any of them! You never know, it may release a positive feeling you have never felt before…
Check out the cutest sweatshirt I found to remind you to build in time daily to digitally detox!