Pulling the Plug: 22 Ways to Go on a Digital Diet

Disconnection is major. Disengagment is vital and pulling the cord all together is a must at some point in life. When the constant buzz of the Internet, chirp of the Twitter and updates on Facebook take over your life, it may be time to take a digital break. If you are a blogger or digital contributor you are compounded with the double edge sword of “needing” to post, post, post. I call it “The Digital Treadmill”. Sometimes you just have slow down or get off all together.

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Though I am spreading the “disconnection gospel”, I must admit that unplugging is easier said than done. As a self-proclaimed “workaholic”, blogger and SEO turning off my computer, shutting down Hootsuite and not blogging feels like death to me! A bit dramatic but take this from a woman who affectionately calls her laptop her son… clearly I have issues.

So how can you manage to unplug without feeling like it’s doomsday or that you’ll miss the latest Google update? Instead of cutting all interactive ties why not go on a mini digital diet. Shutting down the computer not only helps boost our attention, it rejuvenates our creativity and lets us enjoy life in the real world. Remember the real world? The thing with trees and people.

Here are 22 ways to pull the plug and reclaim your time and attention from the Internet

1. Schedule a No-Internet Hour; shut down, log off and log out

2. Remove all Social Media Apps from your phone for 30 days… tweeting from the desktop is just not as much fun

3.  Watch television… may sound backwards but trash TV is the forefather of the trash Internet

4.  Ditch the typical dinner at your desk and go out for a nice meal…at an actual restaurant

5. Institute a No Tweeting after 9pm rule

6. With your evenings not bogarded by tweeting, feel free to sleep, read a book, take a bubble bath

7. Write all your week’s post every Sunday and schedule them throughout the week. Resist the urge to blog Mon-Sat

8. Star all the interesting titles in your RSS on Monday. Leave them and pick a time when you’re free to read only the posts you starred

9. Use the “MARK ALL AS READ” button more frequently

10. Go outside, take a walk and come back to your computer refreshed!

11. Leave your Blackberry/iPhone/Android in the house for one whole day. Sounds scarier than it really is

12. Lose yourself in a great conversation with a great friend

13. Use social media scheduling tools to your advantage

14. Work using only one tab on your browser. Multiple Tabs=Multiple Distractions

15. Write your next blog post in a notebook. Feel the rush of pen touching paper

16. Use an old kitchen timer. Set it for an hour. READY, SET, BLOG! Stop once the buzzer rings

17. Go away on vacation and leave your electronics home… #notetoself

18. Remove Farmville (and all other games) from your Facebook profile

19. Get a hobby like fly fishing or biking that doesn’t require the Internet

20. Go on a blog commenting vacation like Bella Q.

21. Use your phone to make & receive calls. That’s it.

22. Stop beating yourself up for not blogging/commenting/tweeting/foursquaring

For better or worse, we are an interconnected society. The World Wide Web has changed our lives and it’s really a pretty amazing thing. But like your grandmother will tell you, “Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.”

I’m off to enjoy the weekend, dance my heart out and forget the Internet exist; if only for a day or two.

Signing off until the next post

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