Tech Detox: how to set healthy boundaries with your devices

“I embarked on my own tech cleanse this year”

Technology has enriched our lives in so many ways. We can connect with people across the globe, gain access to the world’s information in just seconds, skip the commute by working remotely, and keep up to date with Bella Hadid’s street style daily. That’s not even mentioning the truly healing properties of binge-watching videos of cats in ridiculous outfits after a tough day at work.

But with all of the benefits new technology brings us there are some downsides that can start impacting our health, productivity and quality of life if left unchecked. That’s when a tech detox can come in handy.

I embarked on my own tech cleanse this year after reading Johann Hari’s book ‘Stolen Focus’ that explores the relationship between excessive technology use and negative health impacts such as anxiety, inability to focus, and  poor sleep. After feeling a few of these symptoms myself, and being shocked with my own screen time report that outlines how many hours a day I waste mindlessly scrolling social media apps, I decided it was time to address my unhealthy relationship with technology.

Unlike the book’s author, I did not send myself to a tiny island to spend three months offline. Instead I committed to a weekend of digital detoxing. To prepare, I let my friends know I’d be missing in action from the group chats for a while, deleted all of the social media apps from my phone, and switched it on to flight mode. Then I got busy scheduling a lot of non-tech activities to fill up my weekend - tennis, yoga classes, hikes with friends.  Although at times I caught myself reaching for my phone (especially in moments of boredom) I found that I had more time for other things that brought me inner peace - reading, journaling, and cooking. I was more calm, got better sleep, and found that I could focus better on whatever activity I was doing.  

Unlike the book’s author, I did not send myself to a tiny island to spend three months offline.

But at the end of the weekend I also found myself feeling a little disconnected.  I wanted to find a way to have the best of both worlds - set healthy boundaries with my use of technology so that I could experience all of the upside, without falling back into the anxious, unproductive, forgetful patterns that come with excessive usage. 

After doing some research, I found that minimizing technology use during  morning and nightime routines can be one of the most impactful ways to set healthy boundaries with devices - leading to better productivity and focus at work, and more restful sleep at night. 

There’s also many products that can help set healthy boundaries with device use. One of the best is Apple’s built in iphone settings around screen time limits. These can be used to set periods of “downtime” to limit device usage, set daily time limits on specific apps (great for highly-addictive TikTok), and nominate specific key contacts who can contact you even when you’re in down time. The Freedom App also comes in handy if you’re really looking to really block access to distracting apps and websites during periods of focus, it works across your phone, web browser, and laptops to ensure there’s no cheating! 

Last but not least, investing in some old school analog devices can really help. Using an alarm clock instead of relying on your phone’s inbuilt alarm can allow you to have a technology free sleeping space, and wearing an analog watch is a classically stylish alternative to distracting smatch watches.