7 Simple Ways You Can Disconnect « Far Beyond The Stars | Live a Minimalist Lifestyle and Work from Anywhere

7 Simple Ways You Can Disconnect

This weekend, take a moment to turn something off.

Written by Everett Bogue | Follow me on Twitter.

In the modern age we think we have to constantly rush from this to that. We think we have to wake up and work every morning. We think we have to constantly respond to e-mails.

I’ve had so many interview requests to respond to about The Art of Being Minimalist, it’s humbling to know that so many people care, but overwhelming. I love doing interviews, and it’s exciting to have so much interest. But I’m tired!

I imagine your work week could have been equally as exciting and busy as mine was this last week.

That’s why I’m going to take some serious disconnect time this weekend. I’m going to pull the plug, so to speak.

I hope that you’ll join me.

Here’s a couple of great ways to disconnect:

1, Take a social network hiatus.
Don’t Tweet, Facebook, or engage with people on any social networking platform that you may use. It’s really fun to Tweet and hear all of the amazing people respond. Do you really want to spend all Sunday morning glued to Tweetdeck though? Cook someone a good breakfast instead!

2, Ignore all calls.

Don’t answer the phone at all this weekend. It doesn’t matter if it’s your mom or your boss calling, just choose not to pick up the telephone. In fact, turn it off. Go to the beach instead, if you live somewhere that’s not as cold as it is here in New York. Otherwise, maybe just grab a coffee and watch people walk by.

3, Don’t check your email.

Just let it sit there, trust me, it will be there come Monday morning. Too often we spend hours of our lives hitting the refresh button on e-mail. Take the exact opposite approach and don’t check it at all.

4, Spend a day in silence.

Just go about your day without speaking to anyone. Observe your thoughts. Read a book. Be sure to let anyone who might be offended know what you’re doing, so they don’t get mad.

5, Refuse to buy anything.

Take a break from consumerism and don’t go shopping or eat out for one day. Make sure you have enough food to prepare before you start this. Leave your credit cards and cash at home if you go out.

6, Don’t use any electricity.

Unplug all of the appliances and lights in your house (don’t do this to the fridge, your food will spoil.) Pretend you’re no-impact man for a day, and see how it is. You’ll notice that you won’t have any light after a certain hour, so either light a candle or sit in silence until it’s time for bed.

7, Don’t use transportation.

Don’t take the subway, don’t drive your car, don’t even bike. Just walk if you need to go anywhere. I love walking into Manhattan on weekends to take Yoga. It makes me appreciate my surroundings so much more. A two hour walk somewere can be very meditative.

How do you disconnect?

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bladerunner2376

Continued.....

(I hate to keep talking about myself but I need to get this out).

I have about a thousand DVD movies and about five hundred CD's. Obviously I love music and love movies even more. They are an escape from reality (especially movies). I am currently in the process of selling my LCD TV and surround sound to simplify my life. I have decided to take my favorite movies and rip then onto my computer so that I could have them available at any given moment and still have the opportunity to be a minimalist. I truly feel that I am just trading one form of consumption for another. I am too afraid of not having these possessions with me in one way or another. Why cant I just get rid of it all and see what life is really like without them? It's so disturbing that these possessions have become attachments to me that I am afraid to part with. Sometimes I wish somebody would break into my house and just steal it all. Maybe one day I will be completely free of all this. Maybe I will wake up and realize that these hardships that I am placing on myself regarding these possessions is the reason why I feel that I want to become a more minimalist person. It seems as maybe that is the whole point. To break free from the confusions and turmoil that these things are causing me.

One day I will be free of all this. Screens have consumed my life and I am getting tired of it. What would life be like without a screen to stair at?

Thanks for listening.....
bladerunner2376

I have had a computer ever since they became somewhat affordable and accessible about 15 years ago. They have been a huge part of my life ever since. I have used a computer just about every day since then. I am at the point where I don't just want to slow down my use but stop all together. I keep asking myself do I really need this?

I had constantly thought about ways to simplifying my life. These thoughts always seem to be about electronics because it seems as though electronic devices have taken the place of organic things since my childhood. I am starting to realize the influence these things have had in my life. Of course these things have helped me graduate college and have kept me "entertained" throughout my life but to what expense? Instead of having discussions with my family we watched shows. Instead of interacting with people on a physical basis I would use a computer. Instead of seeing life I saw a screen. My stomach turns upside down at the thought of losing these objects that I have become so dependent on. I recently canceled my TV and internet services. That caused a knot in my stomach for a few days. It was pure dread canceling these services but I have now realized that as far as the TV is concerned, I do not miss it one bit. As far as the internet service goes, I am currently typing this response on my neighbors unsecured network. I am addicted to the point where I will steal somebody else's property for my own amusement.
flip

i love the idea that you just presented here, ill try to adapt this in my life...
Jim Thomson

P.S Here is my advice for simplifying your life.Throw your computer out the window.
Sam

Disconnecting is so hard for me but when I am finally able to do so, my productivity goes through the roof. Utilizing these tips seems to be an exercise in self-discipline and anything that improves my self-discipline is worth my time.
sue.h

Hi Everett,
I've just come across your blog here and I absolutely love it!
I was able to drop back my work a little last year and it was honestly life changing. The interesting thing to me is that so many people would say things like "you're so brave" or "I wish I could do that" when I feel there was nothing brave about it. I wanted to be healthy and happy and I'm content to live with fewer material things in order to make that happen. I wanted more time to go to the places I love to be, like the forest and the ocean and it has been so fabulous to be able to do that too. I try to explain that those are just my choices, and I choose to take a drop in pay in order to spend time doing things that I really love but people still end the conversation with "well, I wish I was that brave" or "you're so lucky to be able to do that" !!
Anyway, love your work. I'll be back regularly to read more!

Thanks!
Courtney

We just had a massive snowstorm, so temporarily disconnecting wasn't a choice! I found it refreshing, and it's something I'll be doing on purpose every now and again.
kris

Everett, I'm the one with the gruesome thoughts about someone dying. Our landline doesn't have caller i.d. That means, of course, if we want to know who's calling, we have to answer the phone. (Guess we *could* consider shelling out the extra money every month for this feature!)
Judith L.

Thanks, Having 33 years-old and living and the most expensive city in Mexico is pushing you through a status of rushing everytime, everywhere. So now, since I change my job, I´ve trying to slow down a little bit everyday so I wont miss life. Thanks for yor advice and perspective. Particularly this weekend I was planning to go shooping...Uhmmm how come?, so since yesterday I was thinking about some more excited ideas of to live the weekend and live the laptop where it belongs...@ the office every day.

Saludos desde Monterrey, Mexico.
Everett Bogue

Wow, so many amazing comments. Obviously we can't do all of these all of the time, they are just suggestions.

I didn't spend this weekend doing all of these things, I just choose to turn off the iPhone for an afternoon. I took Yoga and cooked dinner without any distractions.

If you're worried about someone dying, by all means pick up your phone when they call. I actually do the 'take no calls' suggestion often. When my parents call, I make sure to check the voicemail just to make sure nothing has happened.

@Kim. I know how 'what-if' scenarios can be. I would suggest that you trust others to make their own decisions. If you don't, you're making decisions for a lot of people other than just yourself. Concentrate on important decisions for your family. Stressing over pizza coupons might not be the best use of time. You're on to the solution though, just keep working!

@Nice to meet you Angela! I'd love to hear about your modern return to Walden Pond. That sounds amazing.
Angela

I definitely have incorporated some of these suggestions already (1-4), but the rest of your suggestions take it to a new level... I'll have to try those during my next hiatus!

The idea of driving somewhere and truly getting away to hike and be is great too. I harbor a dream of getting away like that in sort of a modern return to Walden Pond. Maybe someday soon.

I really enjoyed this post, Everett. I'm a relatively new visitor to your blog and have enjoyed it a lot (and following you on Twitter), but I think this is my first comment... So nice to "meet" you!
kris

Everett, you have some wonderful suggestions here.

But suggestion number 2, "Ignore all calls," would be irresponsible for those of us who have elderly parents or in-laws who are in declining health.

To be blunt, I would hate to turn off my phone for the weekend, only to find out on Monday morning that my father-in-law had died Friday evening.

And now that I think about it, I would also hate to turn on the phone Monday morning to find out that one of my adult children had been killed in an accident over the weekend.

Or worse yet, to miss the opportunity to "say good-bye" to a family member who was near death.

(If we all lived in the same town, other family members could be expected to go to our house and inform us, but when we live hundreds or thousands of miles apart, that wouldn't be feasible.)

Sorry for the gruesome thoughts!
bkjagadish

My way of disconnecting is going for two hours non-stop Swimming ...it's a

kind of dynamic , Mindfulness Meditation !.. ,Being in water , quite

obviously I will be cut off from rest of the world/crowd !
Kim Murdoch

Baby stepping my way to disconnecting. Pretty good at it when my husband and our monkeys are around. Fairly rubbish at it otherwise. Have that horrible genetic "what if" affliction (what if they try to call because the car breaks down...or my husband forgets about their homeschool outing...or needs to know where the pizza coupons are...). When Type A and "what if" meet...it's not pretty.

Have seen glimpses of the liberation possible from turning off and letting go...enjoying the journey of learning more and getting slooooowly better. :o)
Matus

I love the article! Spending some time without electricity might be very interesting. I will propose this to my wife - so we can have a day, a weekend or a whole week like this. I would love to have this as a recurring event involving our kids too.

How we get disconnected:

I walk away. I pack my backpack, take my dog and I go for a long walk to the woods and fields. I take my cellphone, just for safety but usually nobody calls me. Being outdoors and doing that little of physical activity is so positive to me that it rarely leaves me worried to much. It is a great time of thinking and meditating. It is also a great walk for my dog.

My wife uses earplugs. She does that mainly when she wants to concentrate on writing. That cancels all of the noise and much of the distractions around her. That way she can be at home, at the library or at work. Which aren't the most quiet places in the world.
GoatRidersHorde

Take those earbuds out when you run! I've never been comfortable running with music. It feels impeding.
Earl

I really enjoy spending a day in silence. There is so much noise out there but you quickly realize that most of it is in our own heads!

And I find that many attempts to disconnect, especially those concerning the internet and social media, become quite addictive and then I need to work at re-integrating them back into my routine once again.
Pawel @ Minimalist Business

Last year I decided to slow down a little and disconnect. My life (and work) was getting too hectic with all their distractions. So I started working 4 days a week only and dedicated the entire Friday to my two sons. I stay at home with them, my laptop and phone are off and I am generally not available to anyone.

And as you say Everett, the world is not going to stop turning when you disconnect. Emails will still be in my inbox on Monday morning, all queries from clients would be answered on Monday anyway and usually there is nothing happening that can not wait till after the weekend. So, yeah, go disconnect and enjoy life.

Oh and congrats on all those interviews, well done.
Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.co

Perfect timing, My body is telling me to stop because I have a headache; have I listened? Well I had a bath and went to bed for a couple of hours, but now what? Here I am back on the computer.
I'm going to have a time out weekend and see how I get on. Enjoy yourself!
Everett Bogue

That's great Shawna, spending time with your family is always so wonderful.

And exactly Kevin! I love eliminating distractions, and focusing on what's important in any situation. I used to do the same thing with my iPod, I'd walk around with my ear buds in 95% of the time. Then one day I stopped, now I rarely listen to music while I'm walking. I'd rather listen to the world.
Kevin Martin Doyle

Yes! Thanks so much Everett for a great article. Purposefully elminating distractions in your life is so empowering! For example, a few months ago I thought it would be a fun experiment to turn off the radio when I am in the car and drive in silence. You know what? After two or three days, I enjoyed it so much that it quickly became the norm. I would say that 95%+ of the time that I am in the I ride in silence and it is absolutely wonderful! Experimenting with what it necessary in your life in the way of "connections" to the world outside yourself is not only fun but may surprise you!
Everett Bogue

Exactly 365girl. Have a fun weekend disconnected!

That sounds very relaxing Chris, and also centering. I like the idea of taking a retreat like that, I'll put that on my own agenda for the near future.
shawnacevraini

I like this idea Everett! I came home from work last night (where I'm on the computer all day) and didn't even turn my laptop on! I just hung out with the kids and hubby. We watched Discovery channel and read jokes together! I felt much more relaxed after the busy day!

I need to try this total immersion into disconnecting tho!
Chris O'Byrne

I like to drive my van to some remote spot and spend two or three days completely cut off. I bring the phone, but keep it completely turned off. I go on long day hikes and settle into the quiet. I do not even bring my guitar or any books, just a notebook and pen. One of these times, I won't even bring that much. They are my own zen nature retreats.
365girl

Going to take your advice - The PC is going off this weekend for me! Here's to doing instead of reading about what I should be doing.... In fact it's going off now till Monday! Have a good one!