How to beat Internet Addiction with the most advanced digital Detox plan… backed by science.  Read this and you’re life won’t be the same again. 

You may not believe it but you’re almost certainly suffering from a form of Internet Addiction Disorder. I don’t mean to sound alarmist, but compulsive use of the Internet is on the rise.

You may not be one of the 480 million people globally who are suffering from the worst form of Internet Addiction. China has classified it as a clinical disorder and is searching for an Internet Addiction cure.

But you’ll almost certainly feel a pang of anxiety if your access to the Internet was taken away. We live and breathe the Internet. It’s sometimes hard to remember what the world was like without it.

Compulsive Internet use is now increasing among the general population. Which means you and me are now no longer in control of when and how we access the Internet. We are more likely to surf the web as a reflex action or for a quick fix. We can no longer defer our Internet gratification and are compelled to browse.

Research also shows that increasing numbers of people are showing signs and symptoms of more serious online addictions. Online porn addiction is now endemic, for instance, and is causing mental health problems in the many men who view it. Internet Addiction is linked to depression. Overuse of the web can also cause anxiety, stressful relationships, and loss of concentration and memory.

The effects of Internet Addiction can be debilitating too. As a result thousands are now seeking treatment. Extreme cases are going for a full digital detox rehab while others are searching online for how to do a digital detox.

No one is immune. Internet Addiction is prevalent among college students, while teenagers are some of the worst affected.

But just because you aren’t young any more, doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk. Dads and mums are now compulsively checking Facebook, What’s Apping and doing online research or shopping. And we all have stories to tell. I was relating some news to my dad the other day and I expected his full concentration.

Guess what?

He was checking his Facebook feed and he’s in his 60s!

Some studies have suggested that overuse of Facebook can make us unhappy. If you’re in any doubt here’s 9 science-backed reasons to quit Facebook.

It’s no surprise that now more and more of us want to stop or, at least, reduce online distractions and the constant feeling that we never have any time to themselves.

But how do you get your life back on track and reduce your Internet use?

By undertaking a digital detox. It will change your life for the better, making you significantly happier, more successful and productive.

But I’m sure you have lots of questions:

Where do you find and start a digital detox? How do you keep going in the face of overwhelming digital distractions? And what are the most powerful psychological techniques that will help you succeed and avoid a relapse?

You could waste hours and days trying to find the perfect digital detox, searching the web and spending more time on the Internet to try to cure your bad Internet habits that you did before the problem started.

But you can stop searching. Seriously. Stop browsing now.

You don’t have to waste any more time searching the web for the perfect digital detox guide because I’ve done it for you. I’re created the best researched and most comprehensive digital detox plan on the Internet.

It’s the only plan you’ll need.

How do I know?

I’ve researched the science and tested digital detox ideas and plans to make sure they really work. And I’ve put them all into one essential and accessible guide. It’s full of tested psychological techniques that will help you reduce your reliance on digital devices. Every digital detox tip that works can be found in this ultimate guide. It’s full of real actionable strategies.

Unlike many digital plans that were written up in an afternoon, I’ve spent months testing and putting together this strategy.

With 82 ideas to beat your digital habit, it will help you take control of your digital life rather than it taking control of you. And it will give you a step-by-step blueprint of psychology tools to help you take back control.

This guide will change your life and put you back in the driving seat, guaranteed.

But how do we know that our plan will help you?

Apart from researching the latest science, we’ve also surveyed more than 600 people to find what worked for them, what techniques they found useful and those they didn’t. We’ve incorporated those findings into our ultimate guide below.

As I said, we’re not leaving anything to chance. This guide really does work.

If you want to take control of your digital life then let’s begin:

 

1. Buy a pen and notepad

Reducing your reliance on your digital devices – smartphones, tablets and laptops – will require planning and organization as well as somewhere to write down ideas other than on your tablet or smartphone!

Don’t worry, though, about feeling like a Luddite, writing and paper were revolutionary new technologies back in the 320BC and 105AD respectively.

So buy yourself a new pen or pencil and a notebook or folder. You’ll be replacing one new technology with another one.

 

2. You’re not alone

Your need and desire to take a break from the Internet isn’t the sign of an unbalanced mind. Disconnecting from the Internet isn’t the equivalent of hermit-like behavior that will put you on the edges of society. It is a normal and healthy desire that brings real benefits.

You are far from being alone. Even leading tech and Internet-based companies are advocating the need for Internet-free time.

Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, believes in a ‘digital sabbath’, while Google chairman Eric Schmidt believes in scheduled ‘on’ and ‘off’ times, and commits to gadget-free meals.

It’s important to know this as it will rocket your motivation levels and self-belief that you can achieve your digital detox.

 

 

3. Define your digital detox

Saying that you want to undertake a digital detox is pretty vague. Without a clear idea of what you are trying to do, you’re heading for a fall.

First, what do you mean by a digital detox? Second, how long do you want to do it for? And third, how can you avoid all digital devices when you are likely to be fired if you refuse to switch on your computer at work? It’s pretty rare to have such an understanding boss who will allow you to undertake no Internet-based work at all. So you need to be realistic.

Digital detoxes like many detoxes are associated with long periods of abstinence. While that is good if you want to have a week off completely to reset your self-control, you could also try shorter period first. A digital detox could be something that you do every day, such as not checking emails or social media after 6pm or not checking your phone while you are out with friends. Short digital detoxes can be as effective as long ones depending on the nature of the problem and your goals.

You may wish to do both. A week-long walking holiday away from work and the Internet, completely disconnected, followed by a more disciplined day-to-day use of your digital devices.

So write down using a pen and paper (not a computer or tablet) what sort of digital detox you want to do.

It may help thinking about what problems or issues your overuse of Internet-based devices are causing in your life. This leads neatly into step 4.

 

4. Name the problem

Why do you want to do a digital detox? What is the nature of your Internet addiction problem? Have you noticed something about the way you use the Internet and smart devices that is affecting your life? Write down what you think the problem is.

Are you addicted to the Internet or are you just looking for a way to cut online distractions from your life?

It’s also important to understand what the problem is. Browsing the web and looking for new or novel experience or information releases dopamine into the brain’s pleasure centers, resulting in obsessive pleasure-seeking behavior.

Achieving a goal or anticipating a reward, of say, finding new content online or receiving a text, releases dopamine into the brain’s pleasure centers. People can become obsessed and even addicted to wanting to experience this pleasurable reward by constantly checking email or other online activities.

Dopamine starts you seeking, then you get rewarded for the seeking which makes you seek more. Dopamine is also stimulated by unpredictability. When something happens that is not exactly predictable, that stimulates the dopamine system. Our emails and twitters and texts show up, but you don’t know exactly when they will, or who they will be from. It’s unpredictable. This is exactly what stimulates the dopamine system.

The National Institutes of Health suggests the following behaviors are cause for concern:

• If you’re preoccupied with the Internet, even when not on the Internet.
• You feel the need to use the Internet more and more in order to achieve satisfaction.
• You have attempted unsuccessfully to control, cut back, or stop using the Internet.
• You feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when trying to practice self-control with Internet usage.
• You regularly stay online longer than you planned to.

And because the internet covers every aspect of life, you can be just about addicted or have a compulsive need for a whole host of activities such as web browsing, chat rooms, message boards, pornography, social networking sites, games, email, texting and cloud applications.

But it doesn’t mean you have to live without the Internet. That would be crazy. It means you just need to add balance back into your life.  And with our science-based strategies you’ll be able to use the Internet and live a full and rewarding life away from your computer screen or smartphone.

5. Belief is half the answer 

 

When setting out on a digital detox it’s important to believe that what you are doing is the right thing to do and not some odd minority activity. Most of us love our digital devices, but many of us want to use them more selectively because it is a good and healthy way to behave.

Having self-belief is important, if not critical, in order to stick to your goals.

Belief is a powerful driver of change. Studies have shown that people who believe they can beat their addictions have more success replacing entrenched bad habits.

Self-belief gives you motivation, focus, confidence and energy to change. 

Remember that change is possible. Humans adapt to change quickly – it is one of our most effective skills. If the success of our species is dependent upon it, then you should easily be able to belief you can change your bad habits.

 

6. List the negatives

Listing the negative impacts of over using smartphone, tablets and being permanently connected to the Internet can help you focus your mind.

Focusing on the negative impacts can provide motivation because you will make change a priority.

Research has shown that excessive and obsessive usage and preoccupation about technology are associated with negative consequences, such as reduced creativity, depression and disconnection from reality. In fact Internet-use disorder has been added to the list of serious mental health disorders in DSM-IV – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

It can make you can feel more gumpy, feel that you are leading a narrower and less fulfilled life. After all, you’re spending most of it in the virtual reality of an online world.

A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that too much screen time doubles the risk of being hospitalized or dying from heart disease (the leading cause of death in the United States). Another study in the International Journal of Obesity found that digital media consumption may be linked to obesity, sleep disorders, stress, and depression.

Sure, it’s convenient to sit your kids in front of the TV or device while you make dinner.  But the American Academy of Pediatrics says more than two hours of screen time per day is bad for kids. It increases the risk of weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, and even developmental delays.

Other negative effects include:

• Poor impulse control – constantly checking emails or checking for social media updates without any ability to stop yourself from doing this.
• Procrastination
• Poor quality friendships
• Reduced life with fewer interests
• Poor memory
• Poor concentration
• Lack of creativity
• Moods swings
• Lack of time
• Narcissistic tendencies

Spend too long creating a special relationship with your Internet connection and your other real relationships will suffer too.

“You can be so preoccupied with your digital devices that it’s all too easy to inadvertently sacrifice time, relationships, sleep, focus, productivity and balance in your life. Many people are not even aware of the toll their extensive usage of digital devices costs them until they have suffered a loss or upset because of this.”

Dr. Yvonne Thomas, psychologist and therapist, Los Angeles.

 

7. List the benefits 

A digital detox can make you happier, healthier and more productive.

Being in control of your digital life rather than a slave to your digital urges can boost your confidence.  It can also improve your ability to prioritise and organize your life in other areas.

Knowing exactly how your digital detox will benefit you is essential to keeping you on track.

Cutting out digital addictions will stop you from inadvertently sacrificing time, relationships, sleep, focus, productivity and balance in your life.

Turning off is good for you. It recharges the batteries and allows your mind to work unconsciously, helping you to problem solve and be more creative. You’re brain is never off if you are constantly connected to your digital devices.

Expert on happiness, Professor Paul Dolan at the London School of Economics says turning off your smart phones and tablets and concentrating on your friends and family rather than text messages and emails is the route to contentment.

The benefits of undertaking a digital detox include:

• More balanced and calm
• Feel more rested
• You’ll sleep better
• You’ll enjoy deep concentration, or flow, where you are so absorbed in a long task that occurs when you aren’t distracted.
• You’ll read more.
• You’ll have more time for relationships
• Connect more with those around you and your environment
• Feel less anxious
• More time for yourself
• Healthier, fitter and happier

8. Learn to exist in the present

The rise of social media has caused a new and geuine psychological disorder – FOMO (the Fear of Missing Out) which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a feeling of anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media. It deprives us of our ability to exist in the present and take pleasure from what is happening now.

According to a 2014 study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, habitual Facebook users and those suffering from Facebook addiction were motivated by their need to socialize and connect with others, to escape boredom, and to monitor their friends’ activities (what the authors called surveillance gratification). The study also found a correlation between depression and anxiety and higher social media usage.

Replace FOMO with JOMO – the Joy of Missing Out. Blogger Anil Dash coined the term to express the satisfaction of doing things on his own terms.

And also try a very well researched and practiced psychological technique called discounting, where you put the success of others into a wider context so you don’t become envious. So you could think if someone is posting their great day out  on Facebook it suggests they aren’t really enjoying the moment.

 

9. Make a plan

Repeat studies has shown that making a plan by writing down what you want to achieve is significantly more likely to help you stick to your goals than if you don’t write down a plan of action.

Thinking that you would like to go on a digital detox or reduce your use of digital devices isn’t enough.

A study in the British Journal of Health Psychology found that when people wrote a plan specifying when and where they would undertake a new activity, say exercise, they found that 91% of participants in the study carried through their intention.

Cementing your intention with clear actions, times and location is crucial to success, otherwise your goal to reduce your digital detox will remain vague.

So try this little exercise.

Write down the following sentence:

During the next week, I will not use any digital devices outside of work/ or not use digital devices after 6pm during the week and while I’m at home or out with friends.

You can change the sentence to suit your goal.  So if want to give up all digital devices for a week outside of work, write that. Or if you want to set some boundaries, such as not using devices after 8pm then write that down too.

The more clear and specific you can be about what to want to achieve, the more likely you are to achieve it more easily.

As you read through our digital detox guide you will come up with more ideas to add to your plan of action.

 

10. Set goals

In order to complete your plan and fill in the sentence above in step 2, you need to think about what kind of detox you want to do.

You want to go full cold turkey for a week, a day, a weekend? That’s fine, but it will take a plan.

Or do you want to reduce the amount of time you spend on social media in your home so you can have a conversation without someone checking their phone.

Be clear and specific about your goal. For instance, write down that you would like to cut your Internet-time by six hours a week, state where this will be undertaken – in your home and when you’re out with friends, and when it will happen.

Delete app from your phone such as Facebook so you at least have to be at a computer to check them.

 

11. If-then plan

Giving up your digital devices or reducing your use of them maybe easier said than done, especially as they are designed to distract you from whatever you want to set your mind to.

Fortunately there is a technique that has been proven to help beat distraction.

It’s called the if-then plan.

More than 150 studies have shown that deciding when and where you will do something, from dieting to studying, from when to visit the gym or writing creatively, can increase your chances of success by 200 to 300 percent.

A simple if-then plan adds a significant evidence-based weapon to your digital detox armory.

So what is the if-then plan?

Quite simply: you plan to do something when something or someone distracts you from the task in hand. For instance, if it is 3pm and I haven’t finish my work, then I will turn off my email and my smart phone for an hour.

Other if-then plans for a digital detox might include:

• If I am getting too distracted by my smart phone or tablet at home, then I will turn them off from 7pm and concentrate on reading a book/phoning a friend/creative writing.
• If it is 6pm, then I will spend half an hour responding to texts and messages on social media before I turn off my digital devices for the evening.
• If I haven’t done any creative writing, then I will lock away my digital devices and block the Internet on my computer for two hours.

Does it really work?

A meta-analysis or a review of research into this technique found that the if-then plan improved success rates for every goal from reducing alcohol consumption, to walking instead of driving, recycling.

And the results are long-term as well. Of those who wanted to take up regular exercise, those using the ‘if-then’ plan were still exercising six months later.

The plans work because the human mind processes binary information and contingencies effectively.  You are essentially programming the brain to act in particular way at a particular moment, often unconsciously.

At the moment that the distraction occurs, you have already planned an alternative action without having to think about it or spend time coming up with an alternative.

The great thing about if-then plan is that they are quick to make. You can write a couple at the beginning of each day if you have new tasks that you want to be completed distraction-free.

 

12. Time

Digital devices steal time and time is limited. You can easily fritter away hours on aimlessly browsing the Internet looking for the next pleasure-giving article or funny meme.

You can waste hours constantly checking for updates, posting unnecessary posts or vicariously checking in on other peoples lives.

Don’t believe me?

Adult spends about 4.5 hours a day watching TV and uses a digital device (smartphone, tablet, computer) almost 6 hours a day.

2014 saw the biggest increase in time spent online in a decade, with Internet users spending over three and a half hours longer online each week than they did in 2013 (20 hours and 30 minutes in 2014, compared to 16 hours and 54 minutes in 2013).

Teenagers spent alone 27 hours a week online:

According to a national survey, a remarkable 67 percent of cell owners check their phone for messages, alerts, or calls, even when they don’t notice ringing or vibrating, and 44 percent have slept with their phone next to the bed to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, texts, or updates during the night.

For added motivation and to keep your mind focused on the task keep a diary of how much time you waste on the Internet and write down what you could have done instead.

Next when you start your digital detox keep a diary of how much time you are saving.

 

13. Understand your triggers 

If you’re spending too much time on your digital devices it can significantly help to understand the triggers that lead to the bad habit in the first place.

Making yourself aware of this behavior can help you control or reduce the desire to go online. The worst thing about compulsive behavior is that you don’t know why or even when you are doing it.

You can help locate your trigger by thinking about triggers in relation to:

Location – (home)
Time – (after work)
Emotional State – (bored)
Other People – (no one)
An immediately preceding Action (coming home from work)

Once you have identified a trigger you can intervene. Put on an Internet blocker at the time when  call a friend, plan to do something else.

Cut out as many triggers as possible. If you smoke when you drink, then don’t go to the bar. If you eat cookies when they are in the house, then throw them all away. If the first thing you do when you sit on the couch is pick up the TV remote, then hide the remote in a closet in a different room. Make it easier on yourself to break bad habits by avoiding the things that cause them.

Right now, your environment makes your bad habit easier and good habits harder. Change your environment and you can change the outcome.

 

14. Choose a substitute 

Choose a substitute for your bad habit. You need to have a plan ahead of time for how you will respond when you face the stress or boredom that prompts your bad habit.

What are you going to do when you get the urge to smoke? (Example: breathing exercises instead.) What are you going to do when Facebook is calling to you to procrastinate? (Example: write one sentence for work.)

Whatever it is and whatever you’re dealing with, you need to have a plan for what you will do instead of your bad habit.

 

15. Reboot your brain: the neuroscience

Rebooting your system is a theory based on the idea that spending too much time checking the internet for updates and news changes the chemical structure of the brain and makes viewers addicted.

Preventing yourself from constantly checking for updates allows the mind to reset and will help free yourself from its addictive power.

Neuroscientists have now found that the brain is not hardwired from birth, but “neuroplastic”.

Not only can it change, but that it works by changing its structure in response to repeated mental experience
Norman Doidge, psychiatrist and author of The Brain That Changes Itself.

This change is most apparent in the reward centre of the brain, where a ‘feel-good’ hormone called dopamine is released every time we achieve something. Constantly checking for emails, updates and new and ‘exciting’ information or news story on the Internet results in an excessive release of dopamine, which damages the neural pathways, establishing a compulsive behavior pattern.

Taking a break from the Internet can help reprogramme your brain so you have more control over how you browse.

Browsing should be guided and selective rather than compulsive.

 

16. Pre-broadcast your detox 

If you are worried about missing an important email or text from a friend, family member or colleague remember to pre-warn them that you are organizing your digital life. If you are checking updates once or twice a day, tell them not to expect an answer until 6pm or to call you instead.

Otherwise if you are doing the full digital detox for a weekend or week then communicate important information before hand and let everyone know you will be out of the loop or a week. You can arrange real-life person-to-person meetings if you need to share information or provide an emergency form of communication.

This is will take the pressure from you to check for updates and it will also put extra pressure on you to succeed with you digital detox. After all, if you check an update or reply to an email when you are supposed to be detoxing, your friends and colleagues will know you failed!

 

17. WOOP your detox 

Visualization is a technique that can help you achieve your goals and beat bad habits. However, not all visualization techniques are the same. In fact, there is only one techniques that is proven to work.

It’s called WOOP – short for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan, or the scientific name Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions.

It is the result of 20 years of scientific research by New York University psychologist Garbiele Oettingen and her colleague Heather Kappes.

In order to replace a bad habit with a good habit you have to methodically combine negative and positive thoughts. Don’t just think of a rosy future where you are using the Internet less as that could make you use it more. You need to deal with the barriers to success as well.

The four stages are:

• Think about what you want to achieve for five minutes – less compulsive use of the Internet

• Then vividly imagine the best thing you associate with having achieved that outcome (an emotion, more time, feeling happier, more in control).

• Ask yourself what internal obstacles are most likely to prevent you from achieving this – this is about the internal rather than external issues you have. You need to keep checking emails because you get a thrill of excitement when you receive an update, for instance.

• Then create an ‘if-then’ plan in order to take action if that obstacle arises. “If I find myself checking emails, I’ll turn off my phone, or use an internet blocker immediately”.

This technique works by showing you what you want, but helps motivate you to achieve it by ensuring you create a plan to deal with any obstacles. You can’t achieve your aim just by dreaming about it.

 

18. Don’t be a d*** at dinner 

The psychological underpinning Nudge economics is to nudge people in another direction by creating incentives or disincentives to change their behavior.

In relation to the digital detox a good example of this is the ‘Don’t be a d*** at dinner’ game.

For the ‘Don’t be a d*** at dinner’  game you head out for dinner with friends or family and everyone places their phones and tablets in the middle of the table.

The first one to use their Smart device has to pay for everyone else’s meal.

Nudge works on the theory that it is easier to ‘change the environment you were in rather than the person you are’.

 

19. Fine yourself

Make a bad habit a little more painful and you might ditch it for good. Money is a great motivator, so you can use the “swear jar” method or pay your friends  each time they catch you doing that thing you want to stop doing.

It works the other way too: Reward yourself for beating your habit every day.

 

20. Take up a hobby

Believe it or not, but that sweater you saw your mom knitting wasn’t just to punish you with a mass amount of itchy material, but this is actually a hobby that promotes healthy brain function and doesn’t require using the Internet.

Okay, so knitting may not be your thing, but think of another non-digital or non-Internet based pasttime or hobby.

Think of what you enjoy doing or have always longed to do. Kung fu, sailing, rock climbing, making a box camera out of, well, a box, writing, collecting pebbles from the most captivating beaches in the world, or maybe wild water swimming.

And when you have an idea, write it down. It will help you to achieve it.

Finding something you love that doesn’t require the Internet will reawaken the notion that the Internet is not the end all be all of entertainment in your life.

And remember, you don’t have to update your Facebook page about your new hobby, especially when you are doing it. Let’s keep it in the real world: if you want to share your new found passion, call some up on the phone or meet a friend to tell them about it.

Still stuck on finding a hobby? Visit the Ultimate Dictionary for Finding and Learning a New Hobby.

 

21. Master your inbox 

You may spend a lot of time opening or deleting emails that you don’t need. Cue to unsubscribe from all of those email lists you have collected over the years. Do you really need that weekly email from that sock shop where you once mistakenly bought those funky socks from a few years ago? Are you still being pestered by the gym you haven’t visited for three years?

Think of it like a spring clean. Having hundreds of unnecessary emails in your inbox is a drain – it may also result in your missing emails that you do want to read but miss in the deluge of irrelevant spam.

An option might be to set up a spam guard or filter. Spamihalor is a free option.

 

22. Digital free afternoon 

Build up your stamina and self control by freeing yourself from digital device one afternoon or evening every week. Lock them away and read a book. Alternatively head out for a walk, go to the cinema or see friends, but leave those devices at home.

Have you ever been in a cinema where people are either checking their phone half way through the film – I’ve seen them – or immediately turn on their phone as soon as the credits start rolling. Imagine instead not having your phone with you and going for a drink to chat about the amazing cultural experience you’ve just had.

Sure you may feel cold turkey for a while as you want to check emails, post on social media or just hold your phone or tablet close, but you’ll get over this pretty quickly and you’ll feel great about it.

 

23. Taking it slowly

Going full cold turkey and giving up your Internet-based devices may not be the ideal approach for everyone. Let’s be realistic, digital devices are now an essential part of our lives in many ways from keeping in touch with work colleagues to the way we watch videos and keep in touch with our friends and family.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t reduce the amount we use them. The inability to control our use of them is a sign that we aren’t using them but they are using us. The urge to check emails can be reflexive and habitual and reducing our compulsive relationship with these devices might be more powerful if we learn to detox slowly.

This can help to cement the changes in the brain, create new neural pathways and help us to learn new habits.

Start by reducing your time with digital device by ten minutes a day. Turn off your phones and block the Internet on your computer, set a timer and concentrate for that amount of time on only one thing. Even read a book or a newspaper that completely takes you away from your device.

Over time, increase the amount of time that you prevent yourself from checking social media and email. Once this habit of self control is formed you’ll be amazed that you can spend hours at a time in complete control and not impulsively using Internet-based devices.

Create your own rehab centre:

In fact, Internet and smartphone addiction has become such an issue that in-patient internet rehab centres have begun to pop up in large numbers.

Sounds extreme and expensive? Don’t worry, there is another effective solution that won’t empty your bank account.

 

25. Work life balance

Remember that the Internet means we can work remotely. Okay this isn’t offering you a full detox away from the Internet but it helps show that the Internet has many positive aspects that can help reduce your stress levels.

Many work places now offer home working days. It means you’ll be connected the Internet all day, but it does mean that you get to do your washing, maybe spend an extra hour in bed to recharge your batteries.

 

26. Respond to emails once a day 

Do you need to check your emails every single moment of every single day? How do you get anything done? Research shows you are likely to lose chain of thought as you get sucked into endless email chains and responses.

Creative people and writers don’t check emails first thing in the morning. Instead they work or write as their minds are at their most creative and freshest. The most successful people will check email only a few times a day. Pick a number of times to check them. 1pm and 3pm and 5pm. It save you lots of time and help improve your concentration. Remember to disable push notifications that tell you you’ve receive an email.

 

27. Go Full Jason Bourne

That’s right, you need to completely fall of the grid for at least one whole week each year. Jason Bourne may have had special training to help him disappear, but you’ve got something else that’s equally, if not more as effective.

A tent.

It’s the special weapon of digital detoxers who are serious about their unplugging or are on a budget. With a tent the world, quite literally, is your oyster.

 

28. Go to a digital detox retreat

If you’re not on a budget, then try places like Digital Detox Company and Camp Grounded are taking adults and putting them in natural environments and allowing them to escape from the hustle and bustle of the digital world. These innovative places are taking the therapeutic and community creating sense of camps and making it useful for adults.

 

29. Go to South East Asia

If you really want to go all out then try South East Asia. This part of the world is renown for having some of the finest places to drop of the grid. It’s also a great place to meditate as well as relinquish the urge to want to indulge in technology.

The digital detoxing plan at Stop Procrastinating also includes a trip to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. If you can find a signal for your WIFI or 3G or 4G there, you’ll win a prize.

 

 

 

30. Stop multi-tasking

Neuroscientists have shown that switching between tasks makes the brain inefficient. According to Julie Morgenstern, a productivity expert and author of Time Management from the Inside Out, you can get more done if you streamline your life and concentrate on fewer activities.

The constant pressure to check emails, social media, browse the Internet is bad for the brain and costs us precious time. Morgenstern says that science has shown that it takes four times longer to recognize new things so multi-tasking takes up more of your time and you’re more likely to make mistakes. Typos are now more prevalent in the age of multi-tasking emails.

31. Take a digital-free lunch break

If you work in an office, chances are you will have to plant yourself in front of a computer or device for a majority of your day. During your lunch breaks, try leaving your devices at your desk and taking a walk around the area. Or read a book or a newspaper. Go to the gym. Meditate.

 

32. Make home a sanctuary

Sometimes just seeing items like TVs, phones, speakers and laptops is enough to set off the “I must go on the Internet” instinct in you.

Try designating one room that is free from any technology with the exception of lights.. Keep a few books and magazines in here and take at least 20 minutes out of the day to sit in here and detox yourself.

 

33. Boost your memory

Multi-tasking and overusing digital device can lower your retention levels and affect your memory.

You’ve had the conversation with friends where no one can remember the name or particular fact or salient point of their conversation topic.

What happens?

Someone whips out their smart phone can Google’s the answer.

And in that small little gesture your memory just got worse.

Research has found that we use our brains less to remember key facts and this is having a big impact on how effective our memory is overall.

We are becoming ever more reliant on looking up what we can’t remember rather than trying to remember, which compounds the problem.

Separate research has also found that digital distractions make it more difficult to form memories.

Take some time away from your digital devices and learn a few basic memory techniques. They’re fun to use. Mnenomics uses the creative aspects of the mind, making the thing you want to remember bigger and larger and more playful that it actually is. If you want to have a world-beating memory to impress your friends and make you less reliant on the Internet, check out this in depth guide to improving your memory.

Another tip is to try to remember facts when in conversation rather than immediately searching online.  Sometimes knowing the fact isn’t that important and it may initially take you a whole day to remember it, but remember it you will.

Research has found that even just a day or so away from technology will improve your memory.

34. The Big Sleep

According to studies, reading on a digital device before bedtime can reduce levels of melatonin which will affect your desire to sleep.

Don’t use your digital devices for an hour before sleeping and leave it in a completely different room to avoid the temptation to wake up and check it.

Insomina is on the increase because people are waking up during the natural sleep cycle but instead of going back to sleep straight away are reaching for their phone.

 

35. Buy an alarm clock

Many people use an alarm app to wake up in the morning, but having your smart phone by your bed can create an urge to check your messages first thing in the morning.

You could instead wish your partner a good morning. When was the last time you did that before checking the news on your phone?

Alternatively have a clock radio and wake up to music or listening to the latest news. It will use a different part of your brain and help improve your concentration for the day ahead.

It’s important to give yourself some space in the morning. You’ve just woken up from a peaceful dreamy sleep and the first thing you want to do is check your phone. No wonder you’re feeling stressed.

Start the day taking a relaxing cup or tea or coffee and stay calm. After all the rest of the day at work will be dominated by emails, Facebook, websites. There’s plenty of time in the day ahead to check on all matters digital.

 

36. Make the bedroom a sanctuary

Another way to keep yourself from destorying your sleep is to turn off your WiFi router before bed. That way even if you do reach over to fulfill that impulse you won’t have any Internet to work with and it takes way more of an effort to walk over to your router and start it back up again. Although even without WiFi, some of your smart devices can use the 3 or 4G networks to connect. The best solution here is to charge your phone over night in a room as far away from the bedroom as possible.

Does it work? Yes. How do I know? Because I personally use this technique myself. After months of broken sleep, reaching for my smart phone as soon as I was awake, and never truely relaxing, I started leaving my phone downstairs in a different room. I didn’t miss it. I sleep deeply every night. I’ve never felt better.

 

37. Do activities where digital devices aren’t necessary

 

Tried texting while your jogging or dancing?

Try it.

Near impossible.

Tried texting why out for a country walk, well, if you leave your devices at home.

One excellent way to prevent you using the Internet is to undertake an activity where you just can’t use them or it’s near impossible.

Dancing is a great option as there are so many different types. From ball room, Tango to Salsa and Lindy Hop. You’ll get fit, use a different part of your brain and meet some new people.

38. Spend more time in water

And the best activity to avoid contact with digital devices.

Swimming.

Frolicking in lakes, oceans and pools pretty much requires you to not have any devices in your hand unless you never want them to work again.

Spending a lot of time swimming will force you to be away from your device. If you aren’t by any large bodies of water or the weather doesn’t permit you to do this then just draw a bath and relax in it with your hands in the water.

39. Create a detox collective
 

Undertaking a digital detox with a group of friends or other motivated people will help keep you on track.

Accountability partners, for instance, check in on how you getting on. Knowing someone is watching over you can improve the way you behave.

Also group goals have been shown to be powerful. You are more likely to achieve something if you do it in a group. This is especially the case with a digital detox as those friends who are joining you to switch off are the ones you will tempt you away from your detox if they don’t join you.

They will be texting, emailing, posting on Facebook.

What if they weren’t?

What if they were doing your detox too!

 

40. Sponsored digital detox

Undertake your digital detox to raise money for a good cause and they will give you a cast iron guarantee that you won’t fail.

You’ll have other’s people money riding on your ability to succeed.

And if you don’t succeed then your good cause will lose out on your fundraising efforts.

You could combine this idea with the group digital detox tip above and raise money as a group.

Go to Just Giving and set up a fundraising page.

 

41. Get a digital detox app

Sometimes the temptation to dive back into the world of technology is too great and the only way to prevent yourself from doing so is to give yourself no other choice. This is when a web-blocking program comes in.

They allow you to block distrating websites for a period of time or the whole Internet connection if you have zero self control. These types of programs are especially important if you are trying to work, study or write and digital distractions are preventing you from concentrating.

A good options include Net Nanny which is a  parental control software that can permanently filters out websites. It requires you to input a password to set up a network-wide ban. This might work well if you want an accountability partner who can monitor whether you go online.

Another option is a temporary blocker that you can turn on at the times when you are most tempted to go online.  Stop Procrastinating will lock you out so you can’t get back online until the time is up for a period of up to 24 hours. You can either block the entire internet connection or filter out the most distracting websites.

 

42. A time locked container

If you aren’t keen on an website blocker you could alternatively locked up your phones, tablets, and if it’s big enough, you laptops into a time locked container for part of each day.

Sounds extreme but then wasting your life on the Internet sounds a pretty extreme way to behave when you think about it.

43. Diarise your detox

Organization and planning makes all of the difference.

Rather than just deciding to take a break at the spur of the moment, write in a paper calendar a few times a month the days and times when you want to remove yourself from the digital world.

Seeing it written down makes it concrete and makes it more likely that you will stick to the plan.

 

44. See a friend digital-free

Create a contract with your significant others and friends that states that you will have at least one time a month when you just focus on each other. When I say contract I don’t mean a creepy 15 page, 50 Shades of Grey type of contract. Something simple that states a day of the month that you both unplug and focus on each other with no devices in sight. Alternatively if this sounds too much like a pre-nuptial agreement, use a diary. It works.

 

45. Buy a typewriter

Writing by hand can get tiring, so if you need to automate your digital detox think about investing in a typewriter.

It could help you to learn to type if you haven’t already. Imagine how much time you would save if you could speed up your typing speed. Less time on the Internet and more time in the real world.

 

46. Get yourself a dumb phone

Dumb phones or feature phones are making a come back. In Japan there has been an increase in sales of features phones, which all you can use it for it to send texts and make calls (and maybe take a photo), and a drop in sales of smart phones.

British actor Eddie Redmayne made headlines when he ditched his smart phone for a dumb phone, saying “It was a reaction against being glued permanently to my iPhone during waking hours.”

And Minium phones with sleek designs could soon become all the rage.

Why are these making a comeback?

People are beginning to realise that while it maybe convenient to have your entire life in a phone, it isn’t exactly healthy.

The thought of disentangling your life from your phone might seem radical if not revolutionary and may make fee