Drop That Phone and Pick Up a Pen

Catching Your Breath and a Break:

It is vital for your mental and physical health to step away from the computer, put that phone down, and catch a breath. There are lots of different ways to decompress from the internet and give your brain a rest from the online world. Put your game on pause, and start putting your life on play. Throughout this blog, I will provide several activities you can do in substitution to being on the internet all day everyday. Whether you decide to implement any of these suggestions into your daily life is your choice, or you can continue to potentially slowly rot your brain with no rest. Practicing one or more of these activities can benefit you and your brain tremendously. All the information your brain intakes in twenty-four hours alone can leave you feeling exhausted if you do not take some time to practice self-care for yourself. If you are an avid user and quite active on social media, this blog is a good read for you. Even if you do not spend a lot of time on the internet, practicing or partaking in any of these activities is still very beneficial.

Step Outside

Starting off with one of the most recommended activities to an individual looking to put down their phone. Step outside and indulge in the nature around you! You do not have to live in paradise to do this activity, you can be anywhere in the world and still benefit from simply stepping outside. Allowing your skin to soak in the sun's rays and tearing your eyes away from those harmful radiations emitting from a phone will have your brain thanking you later. Not only your brain, but your body as well. The sun's UV rays help your body create a nutrient called Vitamin D. Why is this important you may ask? Vitamin D is beneficial for your bones, blood cells, and immune system. Even if it is only for five minutes, five minutes is better than zero minutes in the sun. This is the simplest activity to implement in your daily life, and one of the most beneficial. 

Take a Hike, Quite Literally

If you are an individual that enjoys the outdoors, another great substitute is to go for a hike! Rather than spending hours online, look up local hiking sites in your area and decompress in nature! You get to enjoy the beauty around you, and you are exercising at the same time. Spending prolonged time in nature is incredibly beneficial to some individuals and gives you more appreciation for the real world, not the idealized version online you see while scrolling. Plus, there is a low chance of having any access to the internet or data, leaving you and only you to take in all your surroundings. Just remember to pack some snacks, water, and some sunscreen! Fertilize that skin with some Vitamin D and enjoy the sites around you.

Games Anyone?

A great way to entertain you and a group of friends is to pick a board game of your choice, and let the fun begin. To make it an even more personalized experience, take you and your group of friends on a trip to the store and pick out a game all together. Some great board games that are popular among young adults are:

• Monopoly 

• Clue: Who Did It?

• Jenga 

• Cards Against Humanity 

• Sorry!

• UNO

• Scrabble

• Catan

• Apples to Apples

• Guess Who?

• Jumanji

• Game of Life

• Connect 4

• CodeNames

• Battleship

These are only a handful of board games you can invest in. The variety of board games as of late is astonishing, and never ending. So schedule that get together with your group of friends, silence those phones and don’t forget to have fun!

Rest Your Brain

We often forget to take care of our most important organ in our body. Our brain! Like any organ or muscle in the human body, they need a little help and a break sometimes too. Meditation is a great practice to start partaking in for your mental health. There are many different types of mediation you can begin practicing. The main types of mediation being:

• Mindfulness Meditation 

• Spiritual Meditation 

• Focused Meditation 

• Movement Meditation 

• Mantra Meditation

• Transcendental Meditation 

• Progressive Relaxation 

• Loving-Kindness Meditation 

• Visualization Meditation 

• Samma-Samadhi Meditation

• Chanting Meditation 

There are also several states of meditation you can reach, depending how deep you would like to delve into this practice and what specific type of mediation you are practicing. The several states of meditation being:

• Body

• Feelings

• Awareness 

• Loving-Kindness

• Release

• Self-fulfillment 

• Nonduality 

Set aside a small space  in a room of your choice, get a mat of your choice, align that energy, get some incense, and get to de-stressing and re-energizing that brain!

Journal, Don’t Tweet

When engaging in a social media site for an extended time, it can be easy to forget the things we post are public to all, and are forever on the internet. Especially on a social media site dedicated to what you have to say next, many people forget to watch what they tweet. Rather than tweeting about how horrible your ex is to all of the internet, buy a journal and record how you feel. I get it, it’s been a long day, customers have been yelling at you all day, your friends are acting off, and emotions are at an all time high. Rather resorting to tweeting away on how frustrated life is at the moment, tell your journal instead. The best part is, only you, yourself, and you have access to whatever lies beneath the cover of your journal. There doesn’t need to be a specific format (unless by your own choice), no word requirement, nobody checking for your spelling and grammatical errors, and for your eyes only. It’s as easy as heading to the closest Walmart near you, picking a journal of your choice, picking up that pen, and writing whatever you may feel at the moment! There is no shame in having your own diary at whatever age. It’s a very healthy practice for regulating your emotions and practicing healthy communication skills. When it comes to online, less is sometimes definitely more! The whole world does not need to be twenty chapters deep into your personal life, as I have previously stated, it will be on the internet forever. It does not matter if you delete it yourself or not. Write what you feel, analyze what you just wrote, and then you can decide for yourself if it truly needs to be online forever. 

Put Down the Phone and Pick up a Paintbrush 

A great hobby to pick up is art! Whether that is drawing, painting, or any other type of art! Drawing utensils and paintbrushes are typically pretty inexpensive, so this is another easily accessible activity. It does not matter the skill set, the age, or the material, let your imagination run wild. Head to your local Target, craftstore, Dollar Tree, any store of your choice and get those materials together and start working! There are many art types and art styles that you could choose from, such as:

• Sculpture 

• Painting

• Pop Art

• Conceptual Art

• Contemporary Art

• Impressionism 

• Cubism

• Fine Art

• Visual Art

• Abstract Art

• Surrealism 

• Expressionism 

• Performance Art

• Photography 

• Drawing

• Installation Art

• Modern Art

• Realism

• Minimalism 

• Architecture 

• Abstract Expressionism 

• Land Art

• Op Art

• Photorealism 

It is up to the individual which art style they will choose to express themselves with. No matter the style of art, there are several varieties of ways a single individual can express their creativity. Pick up your material of choice, and let those creative juices flow!

Expand Your Vocabulary 

Instead of spending several hours with your nose buried deep into your phone, put that show on pause, and dedicate at least an hour to learning a new language! Dedicating at least one hour of your day towards learning a new language of your choice expands your mind, and your variety of individuals you can communicate with. You don’t need to be online, or have access to the internet to start developing this skill. Go to your local library or bookstore and pick up in a language of your choice. Then find a dictionary to begin learning the basic grammar and spelling of the language of your choice. It is easiest to accumulate yourself into a language if you are completely surrounded by it. Whether that is choosing to only be by other individuals speaking this language, listening to songs in your language of choice, and listening/watching everything in your language of choice. Here’s a list of the most common languages in the world to look over and begin your journey of what to finally decide.

• Spanish

• Arabic 

• French

• Portuguese 

• Russian

• Japanese 

• German 

• Hindi 

• Bengali 

• Mandarin 

• Turkish

• Malay

• Urdu

• Indonesian 

• Nigerian Pidgin

• Telugu

• Tamil

• Vietnamese 

The list goes on, as these are just some of the most commonly practiced and used languages in the world. Pick up that dictionary today!

Thank You For Reading

As I conclude this piece, I want to remind everyone that these are only a few options to substitute your phone time, to decompress time for your mind and body. The list of ideas and hobbies you can start right now at home is even a very long one itself. The recommendations I have provided are a start if you have no idea where to begin in your mind and body aftercare/routine. Please remember it is more than important to take time to dedicate to rejuvenating your mind and body. Treat and spoil your mind and body like you would treat your very own child. Your mind is like a small child, it sometimes needs nurturing and extra care to continue to grow and prosper in their environment. This goes the same for the way we see and treat our minds. Nurture your mind, nurture your soul, take care of your body, and decompress. Your mind and body are begging for it. The difference you will see in dedicating time away from social media and the internet will astonish you. So please go ahead and take that desperately needed brain vacation for the benefit of your mental health.

Links:

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/digital-detox-ideas/

https://www.calendar.com/blog/httpswwwcalendarcomblog14-alternatives-to-picking-up-your-phone/

https://authenticallydel.com/things-to-do-instead-of-being-on-your-phone/