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The Christmas holiday season is a time to step back from the hectic pace of modern life and connect with your nearest and dearest instead of screens, apps, and chatbots.
As you sit down for a celebratory meal, exchange gifts or take time out for some self-reflection, here are some tips on how to stay away from the online world for the next few weeks.
Do not bother me
Your phone already has built-in features that can help you prevent distractions.
To temporarily silence all those distracting notifications, use the Focus setting on your iPhone or Android device. This mode is designed to prevent interruptions when you want to concentrate. You can customize it by blocking specific apps or muting them only when you’re doing certain things, like sleeping or reading.
Android and iOS also have corresponding Screen Time controls to manage overall device usage. Too much Instagram Scrolling? Limit yourself to a total of 20 minutes per day.
There are other tricks you can try, like turning the screen gray to make it less attractive. On iPhones or Android devices, change the color filter or adjustment settings. On Android, activating bedtime mode also turns the screen gray.
delete apps
If you need to be stricter with yourself, delete all or any of the apps you are addicted to. An effective way to stop looking at your phone is to delete the apps you spend the most time scrolling through, even if temporarily. You can always reinstall them if the withdrawal symptoms become too severe.
Get out…
When the temperatures drop, it’s tempting to snuggle inside and stay cozy. But don’t sit on the sofa all day. Go outside, away from Wi-Fi signals. If it’s snowing where you are, have a snowball fight or go sledding. To keep your hands warm, don’t forget to wear heavy gloves – which your phone’s touch screen won’t respond to.
Even if there is no snow, take a walk in a forest, park or on a tree-lined road. Time spent outside and away from screens can benefit your mental health and physical well-being. There’s even a term for it: forest bathing.
…and touch the grass
There’s an app you can use to force yourself to – literally – get back in touch with nature. Touch Grasp takes its name from a viral catchphrase used when someone has lost their connection to the real world because they are busy with whatever they are seeing on their screen.
This is similar to other apps designed to restrict screen time by forcing users to take timeouts from scrolling. The difference is that Touch Grass requires users to go outside and take a photo of themselves touching some grass.
Touch Grass has a free service tier that allows you to block two apps. I found that this was quite effective in keeping me from opening two of my favorite time-wasting things, reddit and Instagram, although I spent more time on other apps FacebookTo block all apps, you’ll have to pay for a subscription – $6 per month or $50 annually,
If you can’t find grass due to the cold, there is also the option of touching snow or sand. It’s only available for iPhones so far, but there are copycat versions for both iOS and Android, though we haven’t tested them.
putting pen to paper
When was the last time you sent a Christmas card? Most digital natives find it easier to type holiday greetings or send digital cards over chat apps than to put pen to paper.
The amount of time we spend tapping, typing or swiping on our devices has resulted in handwriting becoming a lost art. But research shows that handwriting also has neurological and cognitive benefits. For example, taking notes by hand is a better way for students to learn and remember information.
So use this time of year to write a thoughtful message to someone special, write a letter to a long-lost friend, or write thank you notes for gifts received.
pick up a book
If you still don’t know what you want for Christmas, why not ask for a book? It’s easy to find inspiration and ideas this time of year, when many people love to share the books they’ve read in the past 12 months, and outlets including the Associated Press compile their own lists of the best books of the year.
There are many benefits to reading long-form literature or non-fiction that cannot be obtained from viewing an abbreviated form of text on your device, including a deeper understanding of a topic, developing empathy, increasing your focus and concentration, and more.
Lock your device.
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift, how about a Time-Lock Vault to keep your device inaccessible for 15 minutes, a few hours, or even weeks?
There are many versions available for sale online. For about $30, I bought a battery-powered gray plastic model that can hold multiple smartphones. The instruction leaflet states that its purpose is to “increase self-discipline”.
Punch in an amount of time – up to 30 days – and a digital display will count down until unlocking. The lid has portholes so you can thread in cables for charging while you wait.
One evening, I turned off my phone for an hour and then picked up my laptop to do some online Christmas shopping. But my plans failed because I forgot the authentication request for my credit card Amazon Went to my phone.
not like a smart phone
For another gift idea, consider placing a brick phone under the tree. Also known as feature phones, these devices cater to people who want a back-to-basics phone without all the digital excitement that comes with a smartphone.
Nokia’s retro devices are reminiscent of the early days of the cellphone era – no touch screens, numeric keypads, and throwback video games like Snake. Most can only make voice calls and send text messages.
If this sounds too primitive, there are so-called digital minimalist phones that serve the same market segment. Light, Punk and Se Equipment balance Offer sleek, modern designs but with a different feel.
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