4 Ways To Digitally Detox and Reclaim Your Attention

Have you noticed that your attention span sucks lately? I know I have. I used to be able to sit through the ebbs and flows of boredom with ease, but lately I feel like I have to constantly be entertained. I’m reaching for my phone and scrolling without even realizing I’m doing it and I hate that.

Sure, our phones help keep us connected but mostly they keep us distracted and wasting time. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather use my time to genuinely connect with people in real life, experiencing something new, cultivating a hobby, or literally anything else that makes life feel like it’s worth living. I needed to learn how to change my unconscious habits and get my attention back.

How To Do a Digital Detox

Start Small

It can feel daunting to start a digital detox, but it doesn’t have to be. You can start with a one-hour daily break from your phone or a weekend-long detox. There’s no need to commit yourself to a 30-day detox or quit cold turkey. You’ll probably have a rough go of it and will fall right back into bad habits.

Curate and Limit Apps

An easy next step is to delete or limit any time-consuming apps from your phone. You could completely remove the time-consuming apps from your phone or set app time limits. No matter which you choose you’ll be spending less time scrolling your life away.

Declutter Devices

Turn off push notifications for any apps that you don’t need to be immediately notified for. You don’t need to know about that flash sale or that somebody just DMed you right away. Mute or unfollow any accounts that stress you out or irritate you. You could also unsubscribe from or filter any unnecessary emails while you’re at it. I have all of my promotional emails automatically trashed. They hang out in the trash for 30 days so if I want to buy something and want to check for a discount code I can go look for one before the email is fully deleted.

Create “Tech-Free” Time and/or Zones

Designate specific areas or times of the day for no technology. We have a no phones at the table rule whether we’re dining in or out. It’s pretty fun when we’re out because it forces you to pay attention to the people and sounds around you. We’ve eavesdropped on parts some interesting conversations this way.

You could also have a no-tech in bedrooms rule. No TVs, tablets (e-readers are exempt), and no cell phones. If you can’t commit to no phones in the bedroom, maybe do phones on the nightstand. That way it’s close by but not easy to reach. No TV in the bedroom could even improve your sleep quality so it might be worth a try if it makes sense for your house.

Additionally, you could avoid screens for the first hour of your day. I know this isn’t always possible, but if you’re able to swing it it almost guarantees a calm and grounded start to your day.

Fill the Time

When you spend less time scrolling you’ll remember what having free time was like. You’ll need to replace that screen time with some thing else. This is where the magic happens.

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MORE: How To Quickly Escape a Dopamine Hole

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Ways To Minimize Time Spent Scrolling on Your Phone

What do you do instead of scrolling on your phone? Or what can you do to minimize the time you spend scrolling when your detox is over? May I suggest:

• Gray scale your phone to make it less fun to be on. No bright colors = no fun.
• Access social media from the browser app, not the social media app. It’s a sub par experience so you’ll get off sooner.
• Keep a journal and write in it when you want to scroll. Write about what you’re feeling in that moment. You’ll probably start to see a pattern.
• Do a puzzle. I find that I often want to do something with my hands to keep me occupied and jigsaw puzzles are fun.
• Keep a book (or magazine) close by.
• Go for a walk.
• Do a closet clean out.
• Plan regular coffee meetups with a friend.
• Clean and organize your bathroom cabinets.
• Clean out the fridge. We all hate it, but it needs to be done.
• Do any chore around the house. Just one. It might not be fun, but the things that need doing won’t pile up over time and you’ll feel accomplished.