Weekly Wellbeing Challenge: Week Six

The challenge for this week was… phone detox!

Here are my thoughts on how it went for me!

[and don’t forget, it’s not too late to sign up if you haven’t already!]

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This week, I tried to detox from my phone. Although I didn’t turn my phone off for long periods of time, I simply put it on airplane mode when I wasn’t using it. This meant that I was creating an obstacle to just picking it up and scrolling mindlessly – the more difficult you make it to use your phone, the less likely you are to use it.

Other methods that work: leaving your phone across the other side of the room, or in a different room, or simple putting it out of your eye line. Some people go as far as deleting apps off of their phone, so they have to go on their laptop to access them, or re-download them. I haven’t tried this, but I imagine it’s very successful!

According to the iPhone’s tracking of how much time I’m using a screen, my average has gone down almost 50% this week than last week, which I’m really happy about! I’ve also found that not using my phone when I’m working on an essay or writing a blog post makes me a lot more focused, and it encourages me to stretch and take deep breaths when I need a break, rather than scroll social media – a much better habit!

Overall, I would definitely recommend the airplane mode method for phone detoxes. It means you can still use your phone throughout the day, but less often and with more meaning. It’s only when you detox that you realise how little you actually need to go on social media, even to run it successfully.

My Goals for 2020!

I decided to create a few goals for my 2020! I wanted to make ones that are realistic but also push me beyond my comfort zone, so I think this is a good mix.

 

Start (and Finish!) a Novel

This is my biggest goal for this year. I’ve been wanting to write a novel for a long time, but I’m such a procrastinator when it comes to writing. I always tell myself to “wait until you have more time”, when realistically I can schedule time and make it happen if I really want to. So that’s what I’m going to do! I’m hoping to start small and aim for 2,000 words a week, and then perhaps increase it from there. I hope that I can finish it by summer, but I’ll keep you all updated!

 

Read 12 Books (not including my university books)

One thing I’ve found really difficult during my English degree is finding time to read books for pleasure. It’s meant that, not only have I missed reading books that actually spark joy in me, but my bookcase is overflowing with new books that I just haven’t had a chance to read yet! However, I would like to change that this year. I’m aiming to read a book a month and go from there. I figured that even if university pushes this aside in the next few months, I’m graduating in July so I’ll have more time to read in the latter half of the year.

I’ve recently created a Goodreads account to keep track of my goal which I’m really excited about! If anyone would like to connect, you can add me here.

 

Get a Full Time Job

As I’ve just mentioned, I’m graduating this year, so my goal is to get a full-time job within the latter half of the year. I’m in the process of applying to grad schemes, figuring out what I want in a job, browsing opportunities. The world out there is so competitive, but I want to be optimistic about finding my place within it.

 

Create a Morning Routine

I’ve just finished reading the book “Feel Better in 5” by Dr Rangan Chatterjee and it’s inspired me to create a better and more fulfilling morning routine. Over Christmas, I’ve stopped using my phone as soon as I wake up. Instead I get up, shower, etc. and check my phone after half an hour or so instead, or sometimes even a few hours. It’s really helped improve my brain fog.

The premise of the book is choosing 3 “health snacks” to do every day for five days, each one focusing on the mind, body and heart. These “snacks” could be journalling, exercising, or practising gratitude, but the book has so many exciting and fun ideas that I hadn’t thought of before!

I’m hoping to pick a few of these and incorporate them into my routine. I’d particularly like to try doing some breathing and yoga when I wake up, and planning out my goals for the day ahead.

 

Continue using my phone less

Over Christmas I didn’t use my phone as much since I was very busy, out and about doing things. However, I know that when I’m stuck at uni studying, my temptation to go on my phone definitely heightens. I’d like to prevent this though, so I’m really going to try not reaching for my phone every time I need a break. Instead of texting friends, I’m going to try calling them more – it’s more efficient and also more personal.

 

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What are your goals for 2020?

 

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You can find me on social media here:

Instagram: @mymindspeaksaloud

Twitter: @mindspeaksaloud