Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Setting up your home environment
• Part 2 of 3: Schedule non-digital activities
• Part 3 of 3: Limiting the electronic addiction

The internet has relieved us of many tasks. For example, we maintain our social relationships online, we organize our work online, and we arrange all our obligations online. However, sometimes it starts to seem like our online lives are getting the better of us. If you want to disconnect from your devices, social media, and updates, these tips and tricks can help you feel more connected to the world around you.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Setting up your home environment

1. Transfer your computers and devices to a dedicated “computer room” or office. Make sure there are no mobile devices anywhere else - not in your bedroom, not in the living room, nowhere.
2. Put your chargers in the computer room. Leave devices that need to be charged in a room. The noise and vibration caused by charging devices can interfere with an otherwise calming experience.
3. Ban electronics in the bedroom. Leave your phone, tablet and television outside the bedroom. Blue light has been shown to disrupt sleep habits.
   • Most people don't get enough sleep anyway.
4. Do not set an alarm on the weekend. If you wake up on your own for a few days, you will start to feel more satisfied. If you're not getting enough sleep, replace an hour of internet with an hour of sleep.
   • People who sleep seven or eight hours a day have less stress and are healthier. Sleep deprivation can hinder immune system function and cause anxiety.
5. Download an online timer that warns you every (half) hour that you are on the internet. You may just be overusing electronics, because time passes so quickly as you absorb information.

Part 2 of 3: Schedule non-digital activities

1. Take a bath. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and enjoy reading in the bath. Dim the lights and light a candle. Relax and enjoy your homemade bubble bath.
2. Invite friends over the phone, not via Facebook or SMS. Barbecue outside.
3. Take a walk in the woods. It has been proven that your problem-solving ability can be improved by spending time in nature. It also helps the brain to relax. Place your smartphone at the very bottom of your backpack (for safety). Leave your phone alone during the forest walk.
4. Join a sports team, reading club, or other group activity.
5. Create your own “beacon of tranquility”. Choose one day per week on which you disconnect yourself completely. Let your colleagues, family and friends know that you will also not be available by phone that day. Prepare a delicious meal, read a book, or do some crafts.
6. Start an "under-the-radar" group. Agree to spend an hour each week - without cell phones, computers, and the like. Your attempt at disconnection will be a lot easier if you have good company around you.
7. Identify your hobbies. If you can't list more than two things you like, the internet may have replaced your healthy outlets. You may not be able to relieve stress offline or express your creativity offline.
   • Take a course or learn a craft.
8. Schedule a vacation for at least two weeks a year. Prepare for the vacation well in advance so that a colleague can address any issues that arise while you are away. Give him / her a favor when he / she goes on vacation.

Part 3 of 3: Limiting the electronic addiction

1. Treat electronics and the internet like an addiction. When someone “likes” your status update on Facebook, you create endorphins - just like alcohol or food. If you are online for more than 30 hours a week, consider contacting an addiction therapist.
   • People who use the Internet for more than 30 hours a week for social interaction are at an increased risk of suicide if they disconnect from the Internet - even higher if forced.
2. Make sure you are “unreachable by phone” for work one evening a week. If you work more than 40 hours a week, you can present this to the whole team. Consider setting up one night a week when you are all unreachable by phone - one night a week when you don't take calls from work or answer work-related emails.
3. Ask your family members to participate. However, don't force them to. Forcing teens to turn in their mobile devices fosters rebellion. Get out of the house and ask your children to put their phones away when they are out of the house.
4. Go to an area where there is no cellular reception. Go there for a few hours a week and enjoy this forced disconnection.
5. Use an “out-of-office” for your mail in the evening. Turn it on every day just before you go home. That way, there is no pressure to reach for your phone to answer personal or professional emails.
   • Reply to your personal emails on a regular basis. For example, set up one or two evenings a week for this.