Take A Technology Timeout This Holiday Season

By Rachel Weingarten

What did you do first thing this morning? Now, what did you do right before you went to sleep? If you're like most people, instead of opening your eyes and thinking about the beauty of the sunrise or how grateful you are to be alive, you probably reached for your phone or tablet to quickly scan the latest headlines, texts, emails, and social network updates. And, while we're on the subject, how many times during your day did you find yourself mindlessly checking your technology to see what was new and exciting, or, at the very least, extremely distracting? Sigh. Me, too.

While it's probably impossible to completely cut yourself off from your devices, it might be time to take a tech holiday. And before you panic that you have to shun your device entirely, here are some easy ways to unglue yourself—at least for part of the day—from your nearest screen.

1. Take a tech “day off”: There's been a movement over the past few years urging people to take a tech day off. In other words, choose one day of the week to completely disconnect. If completely disconnecting seems too scary, consider turning your phone to airplane mode for a few hours each weekend. In this way, your family and friends can reach you, but you won't see (and feel compelled to answer) every pesky work email that comes your way.

2. Set or reset your tech boundaries: Realistically, we live in a time when smartphones are a necessity. But that doesn't mean that we have to be slaves to our technology. Try to set new rules for yourself, your family and your friends. Maybe it's no phones during dinner. Or no tweeting during family time. It doesn't have to be a huge change to make a big difference.

3. Be present: Being present means experiencing (and even appreciating) what's going on around you. That's almost impossible to do if you head is bent over a screen. This goes for the workplace as much as it does the homefront. In fact, it's OK create a text-free zone in your office. It's fine to want everyone present at a meeting to give their full attention to the agenda. When you think about it, it's only polite. So, before the next meeting, consider sitting down with your managers and discussing the notion of shutting off phones and other electronic devices during meetings. In this way, you'll ensure that meetings don't drag on and that everyone in the room is fully present.

4. Leverage tech to escape tech: It may seem counterintuitive, but tech can help you get off the tech treadmill. For instance, Boomerang for Gmail allows users to schedule email responses. So, you can answer an email at 2:00 in the morning but schedule it to be sent at the more civilized hour of 9:00 a.m. In this way, if you're up and working you can get the email out of the way, but you're not sending the signal that you are "on" 24/7. Sometimes it really is the appearance that counts. If you set boundaries for yourself, your co-workers and bosses might be more considerate of your off-hours, as well. Sometimes adding a step can actually end up giving you significant peace of mind.

5. Check your phone settings: There's a reason it's called a "smart" phone. In addition to all the usual bells and whistles, many phones allow you to create a quiet time during which only urgent calls (you program in accepted phone numbers) can go through. So feel free to to shut down and tune out at night.

There are so many good reasons to disconnect from tech every now and again. One or more of the suggestions provided here may help you tune out without totally turning off—bringing peace of mind and a healthy balance.

Rachel Weingarten is an internationally recognized lifestyle writer, content strategist and an award-winning author of three non-fiction books who writes most often about business and style. Tweet with her @rachelcw.