Healthy ChickLit: Take More Time to Unplug
The other day, I entered the 13 in 2013 Pin-spiration contest, hosted by SheKnows. The contest required each contestant to pin 13 photos from SheKnows, signifying our inspirations for 2013.
You can view my entire board here, but I wanted to focus on of my greatest inspirations/intentions for the New Year: taking more time to unplug. While being a freelance writer, health coach, and blogger often requires me to be quite “plugged in” practically all day long, I am going to make it a point to take more time each day to disconnect and do “me” (and “we”) things.
For instance, last night I shut down my laptop and threw my phone in my purse (on silent) to enjoy two hours of quality time with The Boy. It was so nice to chat about our days over Haru Sushi (a new fave!) 100% engaged in the conversation and present with each other. No emails. No twitter updates. No Instagramming our maki rolls. No texting my best friend. Just being…in the moment, in the now.
So go ahead and take a break from your iPhone, your laptop or whatever else it is that you’re hooked on and simply appreciate the beauty around you, and relish in the moment. Not only is it good for your relationships, but it’s essential to your wellness and happiness. I know it’s tricky at first, but trust me: your nagging coworker and twitter friends can wait.
Do you take time to unplug? What do you do to help disconnect from technology, and savor the moment? P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Sparkly Soul Headband Giveaway, which ends tomorrow evening!
Recommended Supplemental Reading: “In a Busy World, The Virtue of Doing Nothing” from the IIN blog.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:33 pm
I agree that sometimes it’s really hard to unplug — especially when “plugging in” is basically your JOB. It’s definitely important to get some quality time alone or with family/friends without obsessing over Facebook, Twitter, the blog, etc. I make sure to spend about an hour (sometimes much more, sometimes a little less) reading in bed before I go to sleep. It really helps calm me down from the stress of the day and get some much-needed “me” time. Recently, my boyfriend and I have gotten into the habit of reading books to each other, so that’s something that we can do together while being unplugged.
January 15th, 2013 at 6:36 pm
@Miranda LOVE LOVE LOVE your routine with your boyfriend! Wouldn’t it be nice if all couples did that? Such a great way to unplug AND spend quality time with a loved one – hits two birds with one stone
January 16th, 2013 at 4:33 pm
This is just like Heather’s post today! I feel like I unplug in tiny ways throughout the day but could definitely be a bit more unplugged. At work I don’t look at my phone much and if I hear it go off sometimes I just leave it sitting there. Usually after I shower at night and go upstairs to eat dinner and watch TV with the fam I’m tempted to bust out my laptop and do blog work, but I usually don’t do so because I just want to chill. I look at a screen all day at my desk job anyway!
January 16th, 2013 at 4:41 pm
I just read her post today (loved it), and told her how I had just wrote one on unplugging yesterday! Great minds
It seems like you do a pretty good job with it – - the fact that you shut down to be with your family is amazing in itself! I definitely need to work on it, as I like the way I feel when I’m present/ living in the moment/ not hooked up with technology! Very peaceful.
February 8th, 2013 at 11:14 am
[...] computer, informing people that I won’t be available after this time. This way I can relax, unplug and enjoy the moment without worrying about who’s texting me or who needs a response from their email. Being a [...]
February 10th, 2013 at 5:21 pm
[...] to our condo in Waterville Valley, N.H with the family for a weekend of snowshoeing, card-playing, unplugging and wining & [...]
March 12th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
[...] On the other hand, I have to admit it was quite lovely being home for a couple days. I spent the last few days celebrating a good friend’s birthday with mimosas & brunch (the eggs with smoked salmon and asparagus were to-die-for), getting pedis with the ladies, cooking in my parent’s brand new gorgeous kitchen, and lots and lots of unplugging. [...]
March 20th, 2013 at 3:43 pm
[...] to focus on de-cluttering my mind too by getting organized! I also want to continue to work on unplugging, as being hooked to my laptop and phone all day definitely isn’t serving me well. This means [...]
April 5th, 2013 at 8:57 pm
[...] back mountain life. Gotta love escaping the city every now and then! While I’ll likely be unplugging for most of the weekend, I wanted to share some of my latest freelance writing pieces with you all. [...]