time spent offline

On a more practical and less preachy note, I wanted to share a list of tips, tools, and tricks I have used in the past and still use to unplug, disconnect, and spend more time offline. It is by no means an exhaustive list, and it might not be for everyone, everywhere, at all times, but it is what has worked for me over the years and I hope you find if some of it useful.

• Turn (almost all) notifications off. No buzz, beep, bloop sounds around here, and once I realized I’m not that important and nobody would die because I missed their calls or text, the burden lifted and I keep notifications to the bare minimum.

• Speaking of not being that important, just because you can be reached 24/7/365 does not mean you have to be reached 24/7/365. If you miss a call, you can call back; texts can wait too. It’s a good mentality shift that helps me create space between my phone and I.

• Quit social media: The global average for time spent on social media as of July 2022 is 2 hours and 29 minutes. I spent way more than 2.5 hours a day on Twitter back when I was a fein for the dopamine rush I got from hashtags, retweets, and likes. Though the hardest of all the tips, deleting social media is the simplest trick that has worked wonders to minimize my time spent online significantly.

• Repeat after me: I do not need social media to be social. Again: I DO NOT NEED SOCIAL MEDIA TO BE SOCIAL— It just takes more effort. Beg if you have to, plead, but do make IRL plans to spend time with the people in your life. Make your best effort to meet new people and keep in touch, and commit to being social IRL even when it’s tempting to stay in bed liking photos and typing compliments.

• SelfControl: If I could kiss an app, this one would be it.

• Speaking of apps, I am a proud appist: I hate apps. Anything requiring me to download an app, I hate the thing itself too. Take your points, free coffee, and whatever convenience your app promises and shove it right up. If it is for actually important things, very, very rare, I try to get away with alternatives and accommodations, and if I must download an app, I delete is as soon as I’m done with it. Become a proud appist.

• Turn your smartphone into a dumb phone.

• Use pen and paper as much as possible. In my third-year of college, I spilled water on my laptop, completely destroying its functions. While frantically trying to gather the funds to replace it, I bought a notebook to take notes on in class. Without the distraction of the world wide web, my full attention went to the lecture and what do you know, I found out my brain actually works. I absolutely loved all my classes and consequently my grades went up; I never looked back. In 2020, I switched from online journaling to using notebooks, and although the journals are stacking up, it is so much more fun to put pen to paper. I use the bullet journaling method for scheduling and planning. Handwriting still rules, and it’s a good excuse to spend time away from your devices.

• Cultivate high-quality leisure.

• Become a fitness junkie to avoid digital junk: If I can commit to one thing in this lifetime, it’s fitness. I have built this habit by asking myself one simple question: If I don’t go workout right now, what would I be doing instead? The answer is always so painfully obvious— Get lost in digital junk to ignore the tiny voice of regret while trying to pass the time that I just get up and go. It’s always, almost always, a good time; Sweat a lil, stretch a lil, see some friendly faces: What is there not to love?

• Speaking of becoming a junkie, self-medicate with (offline) art. A really good book can wrap you up in its warm embrace and make you feel all is right with you, with the world. What’s your choice of art-drug?

• And, never look at your phone in a situation where it wouldn’t be appropriate to read a book. Seriously.

• Laugh or log off. Again: LAUGH OR LOG OFF. If I’m not having a good time online, I log off. Given the rage-inducing nature of most popular online spaces, it is easier than ever to stay logged off.

• Speaking of rage-inducing online content, extreme opinions often only exist online and the best thing to do is to log off and join the sanely opinionated crowd offline. The best and loveliest people I have met don’t spend their days being mad at someone on the internet.

• DF Tube (Distraction Free for YouTube™): One, it blocks the comments section, and less opinion in a nauseatingly opinionated world is always a good thing. Two, without the algorithm telling you what to watch next, you have to make conscious decisions yourself. In the midst of considering what to watch next, it occurs to you how kind of bored you are with most of the stuff anyway and you decide to do some gardening or call your mom instead. Both are better alternatives.

• While we are on the topic, TURN AUTOPLAY OFF. Dear algorithm, no, you do not get to tell me what to do next, I tell me what I do next, capisce? I am the boss of me, not you.

• Downgrade, or remove your data plan. I miss not having data on my phone because it seriously ruled. But that was when I was a college student and the only other place I needed to be was on campus; everything was there. I had to grow up and I need GPS to get around. If you don’t want to completely give up your data, minimize your data plan for what is essential, like messaging apps, GPS, etc. I use about 1 to 2GB data for GPS and music now.

• Go for a walk; bring your demons with you: Demons hate it when you go outside, demons hate fresh air.