Life Wish #11: No 👏 Screens 👏 Till Sunday 👏
Hey hi hello! This is a quick lil baby newsie for those who want to give their brains a soothing and luxurious break from screens this weekend … Which I implore you to do because it will make you feel awesome, or at least way better than dicking around on the internet all day.
This is especially true right now, because the pandemic is truly awful and crashing down all around us like never before. And we must stay informed, of course — it doesn’t do to permanently check out of paying attention to the collective pain we are experiencing — but it’s not necessary or good for us or helpful to anyone to marinate ourselves in it all the time.
Let me say it again — Consuming news and wigging out does not help anyone. It only hurts you. So let’s take a break, shall we?
Let’s reconnect with nature and tangible projects and all those things that make us feel like humans. Let’s look at the real world instead of little glowing screens. Let’s give our central nervous systems a chance to chill the eff out, just for one day.
How do we do this? Below you’ll find some tips that work for me. You can also check out the work of Tiffany Shlain who has been beating the digital sabbath drum for a while — here’s a video and a podcast where she explains her methods and reasoning.
And if you are feeling bad about even wanting to take a break — like it’s some kind of moral failing to do so — I highly recommend this Liz Gilbert video, which I have watched several times myself over the last several months. She makes so many great points about how the human brain works, and why it’s so important to preserve our mental health so that we can be at least partially useful and functional.
I think of my screen-free days as a trip out of town and into the wilderness, away from the collective and into solitude, like Thoreau leaving his laundry at his mom’s house and walking back to his cabin after Sunday dinner (lol what a racket). All the news from town will be waiting for me when I come back!
Just for the day I give myself permission to appreciate silence and peace and watching clouds drift across the sky. Screen-free days are for one thing only — my own healing. And I’m worth that. I deserve it. So do you.
OK! Let’s do this! Some preparatory steps:
Think about your rules. You could go hard-core absolutely screen-free for the entire day like Shlain does, or you could make it slightly more complicated. Sometimes I allow myself to listen to music or audiobooks, but not podcasts, and I can watch a movie if I want, but I have to decide what I’m going to listen to or watch before I turn anything on — no scrolling around to find content.
Be as strict as you can or you feel you need. My best Screen-free Saturday ever was the one where I went by Shlain’s rules — so that’s what I’m gonna do tomorrow, because I really feel in need of a deep break.
Make a list (on paper) of some other stuff you’d like to do, and prep. For me it’s usually reading physical books, painting, doing chores, taking a walk, and sitting outside, none of which requires much prep. But maybe you want to try a new recipe or go hiking somewhere new — print your recipe/map today.
Have some extra paper and pens handy. You’ll likely need these.
On the appointed day:
Turn off your phone and/or leave it in a room you don’t spend much time in. Just leave it there. I leave mine next to my bed since I don’t really visit the bedroom during the day. It’s there if for some reason I absolutely need it — but out of sight/out of mind.
Let yourself rest if that’s what you need. Sometimes I have high expectations for my screen-free day — like I’m gonna finish reading this book and write 10 pages and paint and do so many chores and it’s gonna be great! And then the day rolls around and I end up lying around flipping through magazines and staring out the window most of the day — that’s fine! That’s what my brain and body wanted that day, and the whole point of this day is to listen to and honor those impulses.
Write things down. You may have some questions you want to look up, ideas you want to follow through on, phone calls you want to make, etc. Write it all down so you can deal with it when you come back to town.
Go forth and enjoy doing whatever you feel like doing, without the weight of unread notifications dragging you down.
Please enjoy your trip out of town and into the wilderness of your own thoughts. I hope you come out of it feeling restored and more connected with yourself and all the good, mundane stuff that makes life lovely for you.
Have a wonderful weekend and please let me know how it all goes! <3
Madgey
PS: Today is the Trans Day of Remembrance, where we honor and commemorate all the beautiful souls who have been killed for simply being who they are. If you have the ability and desire to donate, here are a couple of great options:
SistersPGH is a transgender centered drop-in space, resource provider and shelter transitioning program based in Pittsburgh, PA. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Donate buttons.
FreeFrom provides direct financial support to folks who have suffered gender-based violence. They prioritize BIPOC, queer, and trans folks who need help.