How I spent 12 hours in a lockdown without any devices
“How will I shower without music? Workout without a routine? How do I time myself? What do I do while walking? Cook without a recipe video? Pass time on Instagram?”
These are some of the questions I asked myself throughout the day, just indicating how dependent we are on our phones.
It’s April 2021. We’ve come a full circle. And we’re back to square one. Is it better? Is it worse?
On a macro level, the situation looks grim. Personally, though, I have to say that things are indeed better. We’ve come a long way! We adapted to living in this constant state of uncertainty, lockdowns and unlocks, and persistent health concerns.
We’ve grown to understand a whole new way of life and learnt to thrive in spite of (or because of?) it.
After a few sweet months of respite and the return of normalcy, lockdown 2.0 in India got us feeling like it’s 2020 all over again. We’re back in our homes, with ‘stringent curbs’ but “not a full lockdown” (inserting some humour here). So we are back to doing what we need to do — working, chores etc. but without our leisure activities accessible to us. However, I’m pretty sure that by now most of us have changed the way we use our downtime. When once we’d go out for movies, dinners, drinks etc. we now order in, make cocktails at home, go for walks, practice yoga, Netflix etc. Going back into this state is not as hard as it was the first time.
I end up spending most of my time on the laptop or phone, like most of you reading this might too. Good on you if you don’t! Even though I live a fairly balanced life — food, fitness etc. — excessive use of tech gets to me. More often now than earlier. Headaches, tech neck, backaches are common. So this weekend, I’d had more than enough.
It was time to disconnect!
Here’s what I did:
- I decided to go an entire day without using my phone or laptop. Preferably even the TV, which I eventually only used to stream music. I checked both devices in the morning and then proceeded to switch them off. I informed my family and 4 important people about me being off the grid, and to contact me through my sister, who I live with, in case something “extremely important” came up.
- I planned my day the previous night. I knew it would be tempting to go back to the aimless scrolling when I was out of things to do. So I planned some key activities for myself like cooking, yoga, walking, writing, reading and spending time with family. This was important because I always had something to look forward to in the day.
- I asked for support. I felt like going back to my devices exactly twice in the day. My family was instructed to not let me do that at any cost!
The outcome was refreshing!
By 2 PM, I was already convinced that this was a great practice and that I’d be doing this again. I was also positive about taking some of it into my daily life.
- I was more present, clear and attentive.
- I was evidently more proactive and prompt.
- I was more chirpy, positive and relaxed.
My takeaways:
- Living with people does make this easier. Not having anyone to talk to can be challenging.
- Prepare in advance. The two biggest challenges I faced were not having a phone to refer to for time (I don’t wear watches) and music.
- Phones are communication devices! They don’t deserve the elevated status we have collectively bestowed upon them.
- It’s quite possible to avoid the mindlessness and get more intentional with our device usage.
“See! He looks exactly like Dumbledore,” I exclaimed while walking.
“That’s what you do when you walk without a phone — observe.” said my sister, who was having a ball witnessing my digital detox.