Unplug and Restore →

Taking time to unplug can be a key step to restoring our sanity and making a mindset shift.
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​Your social media habits could be changing your brain and affecting your behavior and mindset in ways you can’t even imagine. Unfettered access to unlimited information is a powerful tool but checking our phones every time a new Facebook notification pops up (giving our brains a dopamine fix) can actually become a physical addiction. 
 Research has shown that the “likes” and clicking and scrolling activates the pleasure center in our brain - making us crave more. Before we know it, we’ve lost 20 minutes scrolling.  

​​Even more important - social media is a highlight reel - not real life.  And research shows us that our self esteem takes a hit and our mental health nosedives when we get caught up in the comparison trap.

​​No one is that put together all the time. 

​​No one’s children are THAT well behaved all the time. 

​​It’s not reality. 

​​So take back your precious resource of time and give your mindset a break and step back. 

The time has come… to disconnect. It can be for as short or long as you want it to be.  Put your phone in airplane mode on the kitchen counter and take a walk. Take a bath.  Go into your room and close your door. Go read a magazine in the bathroom. Check out the hand out of the day for 15 easy ways to detox from social media without losing your mind.  Choose 2 new strategies to implement and COMMIT to putting them into action today.

 

13 ways to unplug (just in case you’ve forgotten how)

 

unplugandrestore

  • Put your phone away at dinner. Connect with those you are eating with.

  • Even better - institute a cell phone basket. Everyone puts their devices into the basket when they enter the house.  You can also implement it for shorter periods of time - during meal times, after dinner, for one hour before bed.

  • No electronics in the bedroom - the bedroom should be reserved for sleep and sexy time.  Leave the devices out of it.

  • Uninstall unnecessary apps from your phone - take a look and see how many of those apps are integral for your daily life.  Get rid of the extra noise.

  • Reply to your emails all at once (set a specific time) rather than replying as they come

  • Turn off your notifications. There is no reason a phone needs to be chiming all day. It’s time to implement healthy boundaries.

  • Get up and get out.  Go for a walk, go for a hike, schedule an outing with your kids.  It’s much easier to stay off social media when your body is moving!

  • Cut down on the guilty pleasures.  If you’re following the Kardashians and endlessly Google cat videos and love scrolling Reddit, pick just one to focus on for now.  That will automatically reduce your scrolling time!

  • Stop oversharing.  Not everything we do has to be documented on social media.  It’s not like the tree that fell in the forest.  If you go for a walk and don’t post a pic to instagram - the walk still happened.

  • Get a library card.  Reading can be a way of relaxing and “checking out” too… but it actually improves mental health rather than damaging it.

  • Set limits on your social media and online time.  For example, no social media after 8pm and before 9am.  No social media on the weekends.

  • Turn your phone off at work.  Mixing work and social media = a world of distractions.

  • Make it a group effort!  You will be more successful when you have the support and accountability of those around you.  So get your hubby, wife, kids or best bud on board.

Start with 1 or 2 and see how it improves areas of your emotional health.

Health & Happiness,

Kayla