I admit it, I’m addicted to technology. I text, tweet, post on facebook, have an iphone, ipad and of course a laptop. I’m completely plugged in!
…until I unplugged. I went on a canoe/camping trip in Algonquin Park which is in Northern Ontario and spent four challenging but blissful days canoeing. Check out the video to see gorgeous Opeongo Lake and hear about my unplugging experience.
It was four days without my technology and without connection to the internet (I did bring my camera!).
Strayer and Atchley – both professors who study the use of technology – believe that heavy technology use can inhibit deep thought and cause anxiety, and that getting out into nature is a good antidote.
I learned from experience – this is true!
Here are the benefits I experienced from being unplugged:
- I was more relaxed.
- My thoughts were more creative.
- I was more aware of my surroundings.
- I felt myself slow down internally.
- I was more in the moment.
- I slept more.
- I played more.
Here are a few ways to go media-free, or to reduce your media involvement.
- Go away where you just can’t get cell reception or internet access – this worked for me.
- Set specific time(s) of day to answer your emails, instead of checking throughout the day.
- Don’t answer your phone, let people leave a message and then call them back when you want to, instead of being in “respond-mode” constantly.
- Set boundaries around when you won’t text – like at meal time, when your in a conversation with someone – or while driving!
- Just claim a day, let your friends and family know, and unplug totally! They’ll all be there tomorrow!
It’s taking time for ourselves, stepping out of “on-mode” and taking a break from responding to everyone else that brings us home to our self and makes us a Smokin’ Hot Mom!
Some cool articles about unplugging:
College students unplug for a day
Professors unplug for 3 days in nature
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Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, LMT is the Smokin’ Hot Mom Mentor and Family Wellness Expert. She’s the founder of SmokinHotMom.com and HealthyYummyKids.com. She helps busy moms look and feel their best, and helps them feed their kids well in a world that doesn’t. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her healthy recipes and wellness tips click here.
Nina Manolson, MA, is the founder of Body-Peace®.She helps women end the war with food and body and finally feel truly at home in their body—as it is.
She is known for her deeply feminist, anti-diet, body-peace® approach. She brings her 30 years of experience as a therapist, Body-Trust® Guide and Psychology of Eating Teacher to helping women create a respectful and trusting relationship with their food and body.
Nina’s Body-Peace® work is all in service of helping people get off the diet roller-coaster, and into a compassionate and powerful way of eating & living which creates a positive long-lasting change in and with their bodies. Her courses, coaching, poems and Body-Peace APP positively change the conversation that women are having with their body.
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