Why you need a Tech Break

Take a look around your home; we reckon you’ll see at least three different screens on three different devices. From mobile smartphones to televisions to laptops, there are screens and technology everywhere and sometimes you’ve got to accept it’s simply time for a break. If you’re cooking dinner and glancing down at your phone you’re disengaged from reality. A break from tech and the digital world does everybody a world of good. Below are some things you should do to cut out constant tech use.

Face to Face

When you’re at work take the opportunity to speak to people face to face. Rather than firing off emails and chat messages head on over to your colleagues’ desks and discuss things with them face to face. You’ll soon find that you’re communicating more effectively and your points will be made more clearly. It also cuts down the time spend pinging messages to and fro. Of course there will be elements of work which can’t be sorted face to face and therefore there is still a need for digital. These small moments of tech break during your working day should be embraced and you will soon feel more productive and more positive about your work environment.

Non-Screen Family Time

Set aside a specific time every evening on weekdays and once a day at weekends where everyone is obliged to do something that doesn’t involve tech. This means no computers, television, video games, CD players or iPhones. The whole family, you included, should get involved and it could be anything from choosing to read a book to playing a board game together. You should aim for about an hour on weekdays and up to 90 minutes at weekends. You can choose together what you want to do or do things independently as long as they don’t involve tech. One evening session could involve helping the children with their homework whilst the next could be cooking dinner together. You’ll soon begin to look forward to your tech free time.

Go Outside

This shouldn’t be something you need to be told! Grab your family and take them outside. Getting fresh air and exercise is integral to a healthy lifestyle and provides the perfect tonic for an overly technological world. It gives you a guaranteed break from technology and if you take the kids with you, you won’t even need your mobile phone. Take the focus away from technology and divert towards your local natural environment. Take the children to the park or the beach and enjoy their company. Don’t think about checking that phone, simply enjoy the environment around you and the great company you’ve got. Alternatively go solo and take a quick stroll after dinner before turning to the telly.

A tech break is something everybody should embrace. In time you’ll come to really enjoy it and once you’ve developed some new non-tech hobbies it may even find yourself telling the family “I’m going to sell my netbook for some cash we can spend together”. It may sound unbelievable now but perhaps it will eventually happen!