My Three Day Internet Detox Results

The one thing I do know is that this 3 day self-imposed challenge (using rules I created) opened my eyes. I am more aware of exercising control of how I choose to interact with the internet.

Day 1: My previous desire to be informed the instant news was made, slowly dissipated as the day moved on. I noticed the day passed in spite of my not having ‘up to-the-minute’ knowledge of the daily shenanigans. We watched previously selected Netflix and Amazon Prime shows, visited our favorite consignment store, and purchased four albums. When we returned home, I dusted off our record player (purchased December 2020) played a few albums and danced with my wife and fur babies for about an hour.

Towards the end of the day, I informed my wife that I did not want to watch the news. The look on her face was priceless, and I realized that I needed to inform her of the 3 day challenge I was self-imposing.

Note: While developing the parameters I suggest that if you decide to take the 3 day challenge seriously you take the time to inform the others so they can keep you honest and help by consuming their content by other means. Thereby, respecting your attempted 3 Day Internet Detox routine.

When I got up in the middle of the night to head to the bathroom I automatically grabbed my phone. Determined not to waste any time on the phone reading the news, I opened the Notes app to capture my thoughts. Wondering… Is this a violation of the self-imposed rules? (Overall: 8)

Day 2: I wanted to concentrate on my morning self-observations and capture them while they were fresh. I feel less anxious about what news events may be happening. Being a music person that I am I decided to explore some jazz music (without lyrics) so I could still focus on the tasks at hand including reading my emails…and I was almost duped into following a news story that was sent on email.

Around 8:00 in the morning I went outside to add washer fluid in the car. As I reached for my phone and headphones, I realized that whatever I was listening to was pretty meaningless so I left them in the house.

The results were amazing. Within five minutes I enjoyed the sounds of at least 3 different birds singing. All I could think of was…how much more could hear if I only unplugged (particularly when outside more often) from the internet with more intention more often.

Later, around 2:00 in the afternoon, I spoke on the phone with a really good friend of mine (Thanks Matt) and let him in on what I was doing. I always enjoy talking to him because I love the way his mind works. He is always engaging and causes me to consider a broad range of concepts.

I was determined to intentionally look for things to be grateful for.

Waking up again at midnight I decided to leave my phone where it was charging and took a small book instead. My mindset was by not blasting my eyeballs with the light of my phone screen my distractions would be less and I would go back to sleep easier. I ended up reading a book on the couch and gave myself a one hour limit. Afterwards, I got back into the bed for a little more sleep. (Overall: 10)

Day 3: I woke up refreshed and as I capture my morning observations it is 1:27 PM , listening to our awesome windchime (shout out to Chimetime) I am grateful for my hearing. Disconnecting from the day to day distractions and being more intentional during this 3 day challenge has allowed me to recognize the beauty that surrounds us. I believe that I was able to intentionally be more present in day-to-day activities in general.

Certainly, there are advantages to being born in a generation where you can research practically anything and get reasonably reliable information if you are diligent and check your resources. That is not where I came from. I came from a generation that did not have the luxury of being born with instant accessibility to cell phones. Being a product of a generation that cell phones where not an option definitely provided me with the confidence and historical perspective that it was indeed possible to survive without using my cell phone.

Give the 3 Day Internet Detox a challenge (See the parameters below).Who knows?!

As always, if you enjoyed this blog, hit the like button. Also, please share on social media, with friends, etc. because we have to get the word out. Let all of the good people (wherever you are across America) communicate with one another and come back together.