Digital Detox Is a Massive Goal for Many
Even if we want to touch grass and spend quality time with our loved ones, devoid of any form of screen, it's so much easier in principle than actual reality. Our friends and family are in multiple group chats, and we can't help but check messages, videos, and memes they send to us daily.
Our work pulls us into a vortex filled with smartphones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. Need I say more about the countless emails we receive, not just from work but also from promotional emails and newsletters we don't even remember subscribing to?
All these add clutter not just to our inboxes but also to our mental load!
The first step? Declutter your digital space
Excessive emails — whether we expect them or not — can easily contribute to screen addiction and stress. (I mean, just the sight of hundreds of unread emails alone can send us over the edge. And how many of us have developed the habit of refreshing our inbox every so often?)
Luckily, the Clean Email app exists to reduce unnecessary email distractions, thanks to the following features:
- Unsubscriber helps you cut through the noise by making it super easy to unsubscribe from unwanted emails. It scans your inbox and identifies subscription emails, which you can review, and then unsubscribe from multiple senders with a single click.
- Pausing a subscription with Clean Email does exactly what it sounds like. If you don't want to fully unsubscribe from a sender but also need a break from them, you can hit the Pause button. Doing so will reroute emails from that sender to another folder or archive. Then you can unpause when you're ready.
- Screener is your inbox's personal bodyguard. It helps you decide who should have direct access to you and your inbox. When you enable it, Clean Email intercepts messages from any new senders — meaning those who’ve never emailed you before — and keeps them quarantined for your review. You get to review the unknown senders and only allow messages through if you give the green light.
- Auto Clean is, again, exactly what it sounds like. It helps you steer clear of manual sorting by automating inbox organization. Just set your rules for incoming or existing emails, and Clean Email will apply them automatically moving forward.
Clean Email is available on web, Mac, iOS, and Android — so you can prepare for your digital detox from any device, anytime.
Digital Detox Is a Challenge in Today’s Highly Online World
Even if we want to unplug after a long, terrible day at work or school, the usual go-to is still the omnipresent screen. Social media is pulling us back in like muscle memory. Entertainment subscriptions like Netflix are the easiest way to decompress for many. Even trying to sweat out all the stress and pressures of daily life often prompts us to look at the screen, like your Apple watch telling you your heart rate.
So, it isn't surprising that worldwide statistics tell us that the average screen time for many of us is almost seven hours. (If you check your smartphone, you'll find your daily screen time. How does it look? Is it any closer to this number?)
True enough: Digital detox is a luxury even in today's high-screen time environment.
5 Digital Detox Challenges To Get Your Unplugged Life Started
Digital detox in itself is already a challenge. Imagine aiming to part ways with your phone for a few hours a day — and I can already imagine eyes twitching and hands reaching for the iPhone at the 10-minute mark.
So, while it may sound counter-productive, adding another challenge to this challenge, with a challenge, might sprinkle a little bit more motivation and make mission impossible a little bit more — well — possible.
Without further ado, here are five digital detox challenges and tips that can help you reduce screen time.
1. Screen-Free Week
Screen-Free Week is an annual event that invites individuals, families, schools, and communities to unplug from digital devices for seven days.
🎯 The goal is to declutter your digital life and rediscover the joy of living offline. This challenge focuses on engaging in meaningful activities like reading, exploring nature, and spending quality time with loved ones.
It works by resolving to not use any form of screen for an entire week. The good news is that any screentime within work hours or school isn't counted. So the focus is more on your free time.
🎯 The goal of this challenge is to deepen your connection with others, find time to relax (and actually get bored — as it's a good thing, too), and explore your creativity.
📝 The key to this challenge is to make a list of fun activities that can replace screens. Things like outdoor walks, board games, arts and crafts, or any kind of fun that doesn’t involve a screen!
2. 30-Day Digital Detox Challenge by Regis University
Okay, a 30-day challenge sure sounds daunting. But hear me out.
Think of 30 days as gradually easing into a tech-free life, instead of going cold turkey. It's also more than extending the agony of living without any form of screen time, and more into making it a sustainable and accessible way to free your mind and body from digital distractions.
People taking on this challenge kick things off with goal setting and defining why they want to break their phone addiction. Is it to reduce mindless scrolling on social media? Or to schedule more offline activities?
💡 Some people find that it works better when they use a habit tracker and replace the habit, say, when they replace mindless scrolling with reading or learning a new hobby.
3. 7-Day Digital Detox Challenge by Mindful by Sodexo
This week-long detox challenge offers a gentle and gradual approach to avoiding digital distractions. Each day, you increase your device-free time a little more, replacing it with intentional offline activities to create satisfaction and balance.
💡 So the first day starts with the smallest step, say, putting away the phone during dinnertime. Then, as days go by, you build on from the previous day to extend the offline period. Say from no-phone dinnertime on day 1 to a phone-free evening on day 2.
Many find this easier than other challenges as it banks on habit formation. By trying to extend their offline time longer as days go by, they tend to find themselves getting used to the idea.
4. Dopamine Fasting
Here's for those who say, "Challenge accepted!" and resolve to go hard!
Dopamine Fasting is a more ambitious detox aimed at resetting the brain’s reward system. While modern life gives us instant gratification through social media likes, notifications, and internet use, this fasting approach encourages avoiding those dopamine-inducing activities.
🎯 The goal is to reduce over-reliance on instant rewards and rediscover joy in simple, offline pleasures.
The keyword for this challenge is "abstaining." Participants abstain from gaming and streaming services and divert their attention to quiet introspection. Something like meditation or reading.
The period can be flexible — from a few minutes, to a few hours, eventually to a whole day.
💡 Word of advice: Start small. If a 24-hour digital detox challenge sounds intimidating, begin with a few hours of dopamine fasting. The mental reset is well worth it when you find your self-control getting stronger and yourself becoming more resilient.
5. Phone-Free February
Phone-Free February is both a personal challenge and a global campaign urging people to set aside their phones to improve their mental well-being. The premise might sound daunting, but there’s a flexible version called “Phoneflex” for those who aren’t ready to go completely phone-free.
Participants go turkey for 28 days without their phones. They then replace their screen time with more intentional activities like journaling or workouts.
I personally love the flexibility of this challenge, as I have the option to go hard with no smartphones for 28 days, or go easy with just deleting apps I don't really need.
💡 And in the whole spirit of being a little more gentle with yourself, I'd also suggest further tweaking this challenge. Instead of going 28 days, why don't you start with a digital detox challenge for 48 hours? If that's easy enough, why don't you go another two days more? Maybe before you know it, you're already on Day 28!
How to Ease Into a Digital Detox Contest
Digital detoxing can be a powerful way to reconnect with yourself and focus on what truly matters in your life. By starting small and gradually increasing your challenge, you'll find it easier to create a healthier relationship with technology.
Take the next step in your detox journey — try Clean Email for free and experience the ease of managing your inbox with much clarity and presence!
