❤️ 10 easy ways to become more digitally hygienic

Nowadays, tranquillity is the biggest luxury that we can afford.

But once you are online, all of your senses are bombarded with vast quantities of information. Years back, owning a phone was a luxury, but the tables turned, and nowadays, being offline is so prestigious. Your brain can overheat easily if you do not let go of your phone. Nowadays, it’s harder for us to make decisions and even harder to rest in a peaceful and quiet environment.

In that case, how can we live and work to the fullest?

Allegedly, we never have time for anything, but we spend hours on end online.

We feel lonely, but whenever we are with our favorite person, instead of spending the time communicating with them, we just stare at our little (or big) screens. We don’t have time to take care of ourselves, but we don’t let go of our magic devices. We are prisoners of our phones and social media, and we let our lives get stolen.

Technology is neither good nor bad!

It depends on us whether we use it for good or bad. Often we don’t use technology correctly, and we become its victim. Instead of managing the time spent with our phones, we just become numb to everything around us. Technology is fantastic and has the power to make our lives much easier and more convenient if we use it correctly.

Okay then, how can we use them properly?

But before I tell you, you must realize whether you have a digital addiction. You must find the right moment to figure that out on your day off, for example. For three hours of your free time, turn off your phone. If you feel the strong need to grab your phone and check your messages every 30 minutes (or even 10). If during those three hours you feel anxious and unsteady, maybe it’s time for a change.

Unfortunately, positive thinking won’t help in this situation. Phones are a nasty trap!

Let me show you 10 easy ways to improve your digital hygiene.

• Dinner:

Dinner is something so important – even sacred to an extent, and we must leave our phones out of it. Leave your phone in another room and sit down with your favorite people and enjoy the food in peace. Just putting your phone away but close to the table won’t work because you will always feel the need to take it in your hand.

• The Bathroom/Toilet:

Think about it; you don’t really need your phone in the bathroom. The first time I did that, I laughed out loud after seeing that no one called me. Even if they did, I would not be able to answer their call, right. The same thing stands for you. We all deserve a nice quiet shower. This works well for the water bills as well.

• Every hour:

Do you catch yourself checking your messages or emails every 5-10 minutes? Just make a habit of checking your phone every hour instead. That depends on the work you do, of course, but you can always do it less. If you have to talk on the phone a lot, invest in headphones and talk with them because holding your phone close to your head raises the temperature in your head, and you certainly don’t need that.

• Sports:

I love every type of physical exercise, as long as you practice frequently. Yoga, Pilates, dancing, fitness, running, just walking, all of these activities deserve to be enjoyed without your phone nearby. That’s the time when we have to let go of the pressure inside and get rid of all thoughts. Even if your phone rings, you can’t pick it up. But the moment it does, you start thinking, who’s calling, why are they calling, etc. Just leave your phone at home or in the changing room. You deserve that time, do you not?

• Every night after a particular hour:

You chose the time; it’s up to you when your phone is not vital anymore. For example, make a habit of turning it off after 21:00. That way, you can enjoy the peaceful evening you can unwind your body with a cup of tea, you can free your mind with a good book, enjoy a calming facemask, or even your favorite meditation! You know what activities you enjoy doing and sometimes you don’t have the time to practice because of your phone. Before going to bed, leave the phone in another room, or just turn the airplane mode on. That way, you can spare yourself the constant signals that your phone receives and sends away.

• Use one social media only:

Instead of having three different platforms to reach the same information, chose one of them.

• Install an app:

Many apps calculate how often you look at your phone and how much time you spend using it every day, so get one of them. You’ll be amazed. You can check your phone 100-200 times on daily. And you don’t have any time for yourself?

• Only 20% of the apps on your phone are good for you:

Only a mere 20 percent of your apps are essential for you, the other 80 percent only waste your precious time. Check what they are and get rid of them. You will save a lot of time this way.

• Turn off your notifications:

Well, not all of them, of course! Just the ones you don’t really need. The useless notifications that grab your attention and try to get you to use your phone again. You don’t even feel how you switch between screens and start scrolling through useless images. You lose 20 more minutes this way, at the least.

• Get rid of your phone for a few hours:

Do it every week. Just get rid of your phone for as long as you can and spend time with your loved ones. Do something you love, cook, run, read. It would be best if you did this. You deserve this.

When you’re glued to your phone, you detach yourself from life.

You don’t even feel it pass you by. You don’t even feel it’s there. And you don’t get to enjoy living it.

While inside the screen, your other plans just disappear. You forget what you are aiming for.

You can’t be in both places at once.

And sadly, your real-life lacks this way. Your attention can either be directed at the screen or at life. Choose wisely! I’m not telling you to stop using technology. I’m just telling you to get in charge of it. You have to control it, not the other way around. It’s your life, your choice. So, choose.

Because LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, AND YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. TOO!

Author: Milena Goleva.

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