Tuning out holiday mayhem
Your One Step this week:
✓ Find better ways to tune out the mayhem of December!
The weeks between Thanksgiving and the end of the year seem to take on a momentum of their own. Full of holiday engagements, rituals at school, and long to-do lists, this time of the year can feel the most busy and overwhelming. Our devices with endless texts, notifications, and social media can add to that feeling of never getting anything done or not doing it as cleverly as others.
Our wish for you this December is a little bit of quiet from the noise and chaos of this time of the year. Why not use tech to help you get a reprieve? Find an idea that resonates below!
5 ways to unplug a little bit.
Here are our 5 ways to unplug a bit (that we each use) when life starts to feel a little zany. Is there one you want to try in the next few weeks? Bonus points if you also share what you're doing with your kids OR invite other family members to do one of these with you!
Remove one social media app from your phone for the rest of December. Seriously! Try it! If you have more than one social media account, choose the one that is the most sticky for you and just see how it feels to turn down the noise. You can take a full break or choose to login only on a laptop, desktop, or tablet.
Pick one day for a tech "day off". A screen-free day this month may be just what your family needs to decompress or reconnect. You can even ask for a day of screen-free family time (or alone time!) as a holiday gift.
Deploy airplane mode. And not just on an airplane! We love using airplane mode to carve out some distraction-free time. It's an easy and quick way to silence notifications and group chats. Try it when out on a walk, while spending time with your family, or when you need some uninterrupted time to get 'er done!
Turn off notifications from at least one app, but ideally from all non-humans. Most apps by default bombard our devices with notifications about sales, news, posts, and updates - anything to get our attention! Take a few moments to review and adjust notifications on your phone so that you only receive necessary ones. Go to Settings > Notifications, and then scroll down to "notification style" to toggle most off.
Set Downtime on your own phone. Just like you do for your child's device. How about setting your own Downtime from 9pm to 7am for a week this month? Maybe with your partner or teens as a family-wide challenge? Go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime, and toggle on "Scheduled" to get started.
