Joy+Well: Technology-Free Zones
I’m writing on a laptop. My smartphone is notifying me I have a text. The T.V. is on in the background (ESPN Get Up, for those who are curious) and a google home is sitting in a box waiting to be opened. Technology is everywhere. Smart technology is all around us. Yes, we have all heard about how using technology has advanced society. We also have ample evidence on how it cripples society and human interaction. I often imagine what the world would be like if we had moments where we did not interact through technology but inspite of technology. What would happen to how we perceive each other? Would we find more opportunities to make and express joy in our lives?
Back in early 2014, I started a journey that I did not know had a name — minimalism. I had always been one to love beautiful things — pieces of furniture, artwork, even my dining set was researched and chosen based on color, design, functionality and space. I was also the kind of person who liked gadgets — big and small. But I did not like clutter. The more stuff I acquired (gadget, furniture, etc) the less fulfilled I felt. I came across Marie Kondo’s famous book on de-cluttering and found exactly what I needed to do. I began decluttering. But then it came to my own psychic, spiritual space. It was cluttered, too. What was cluttering it? Well, I was meditating and praying everyday. I did my workouts in the evening and went for walks with a friend almost daily. But I’d be on my phone or computer or some other gadget until I shut my eyes. I’d wake up in the middle of the night from the light or noise from one of these gadgets. Some years prior, I had said I would not have a TV in my room. Then, I was still practicing as a pediatrician and did not like the hypocrisy I felt telling parents to limit their child’s screen time or take the TV out of their room and here I was watching cable news into the wee hours of the morning. So I took the TV out of my room. It took some getting used to but after a few days (really, it only took a few days), I was better for it. Removing my laptop and phone were much more challenging.
“My technology-free zone was the game-changer I needed.”
I had come out of some bad relationships. I was in a new city with a new job. Stress certainly played a role but I found that trying to combat the stress with these things in the only room where I could rest was not helping me any. So I announced — to myself — that I was creating a technology-free zone in my bedroom. From that point on I declared, no socket would have a smartphone or computer-like device inserted into it. Even my music system would have to find a new home. Sounds a little austere doesn’t it? But I was serious and took my sanity seriously.
Let me tell you, the first few weeks were insane. I LOVED the decision I made, I just hated that I couldn’t be in bed with my phone or laptop. That it was quiet, much too quiet in my bedroom. Then I started seeing real impacts on my sleep routine. I wasn’t going to sleep worried about what text messages were coming through, what phone calls I missed, or what item I had forgotten to add on my digital to-do list. I had found my rhythm, my sleeping rhythm. And I haven’t turned back since. My technology-free zone bedroom was the game-changer I needed for my sleep.
I advocate the tech-free zone be any space you lay your head and body to rest in at night. I found more joy in my room after I literally removed the noise from it. And I haven’t missed out on one thing because of it. Yes, initially, it pained me to get up out of my bed and walk to the living room to get my phone and look something up. But eventually, I stopped doing that, too, because inevitably, that one second google search would become a 30-minute internet surfing session complete with video watching, texting and FOMO’ing social media posts! How can anyone get a good nights sleep with that?!?!
Having a tech-free space zone allows for more joy to enter into my life. Do you have a tech-free zone in your home? Where is it? What have been your challenges creating one or sustaining one? Leave your comments with us on instagram!