5 reasons why a you need to go on a Digital Detox

Outdoors instead of Open Space – Wood chopping instead of number crunching – Time lapse instead of Timetables. When life gets too busy, too loud, too fast we need to disconnect, slow down and reconnect with what really matters. Result: You can go further than you ever dreamed you could.

Going offline will make you more efficient (and fun to work with) when you go back online.

A few years ago I was sitting at my desk; a half-munched sandwich to my left and a huge to-do list to my right. I was trying my best to multitask: Juggle an estimation for a house renovation in the mountains, sketch new ideas for a restaurant on the other side of the globe, answer incoming emails and telephone calls, not to mention being constantly interrupted by annoying co-workers. I was out of breath and running at a pace I felt was not my own. Tasks to be done were flying at me like bullets. I was losing my ability to distinguish between what-was-important and what-wasn’t. Just before hitting my ‘rock bottom’ I knew what I needed to do: I needed to break free before IT broke me.

The description of the cabin sounded like the perfect escape and an invitation to find the relaxation I desperately needed: Simple but stylish timber hut, redone by a renowned local architect in a pristine, secluded forest setting. Endless hours of sleep, silence and solitude were waiting for me. I went on my first Digital Detox.

Here are my top five reasons why you need to go off grid and tech-free for a while:

1. You can break free from whatever is holding you back

You can get away from a daily routine, a job, a person, a feeling, an expectation ….The first step is the hardest: It requires courage and action. Courage to admit that something is overwhelming, courage to leave someone behind, courage to leave a gap that might be easily filled (we all like to feel that we’re irreplaceable). Nike says ‘Just do it!’. People spend their lives dreaming of ‘what if?’. Profound change doesn’t come from ideas or goals but from a realization of cause and effect.

2. You can discover the space in-between

Everything in nature is orchestrated by rhythms; the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, the changes in temperature from day to night and from season to season, the tidal ebb and flow. We often forget that our body is a part of nature and that cycles influence our well-being. Unlike the ‘perpetual motion machine’ that can function indefinitely, nature, animals and humans shift between productive phases and phases of rest and regeneration. These phases are equal in importance and are dependent on each other. We thrive and evolve when we allow ourselves to be silent and ‘do nothing’ from time to time. New foliage wouldn’t grow on trees in spring, if they hadn’t shed their leaves in autumn and rested in winter.

3. When you slow down – you will go further

The Japanese have a proverb:

“When you are in a hurry, go slowly”

If we are constantly in a rush, it’s easy to make mistakes and lose the long-term opportunities that lie ahead. In the middle of stressful situations, our reptile brain takes over and we lose oversight. We tend to forget that we can actually increase our speed dramatically if we first slow down a bit.

4. You can re-connect with nature

Spending much of one’s life working indoors, staring at a computer screen and prioritizing industry and technology has become out-of-balance with prioritizing our relationship to the natural world. So remember that you are a human animal that needs sunshine, air, healthy food, human connection and free-time to simply rejoice and have fun. It’s actually not that complicated: Walk bare-foot, study the petals of a flower, pile stones in the riverbed. This will positively affect your hormonal balance, brain chemistry and general well-being. Science proves it. This is not just a ‘nice idea’.

5. You can be present

Going off grid challenges your concept of time. In everyday life we are often disconnected from the present. We function for future gains, ticking off to-do lists, scheduling and ‚optimizing’ our lives. We spend more time in the what-to-do, where-to-go, whom-to-be, rather than in just ‘being’. Eckardt Tolle says:

“Stress is caused by being ‘here’ but wanting to be ‘there’”

Off grid living allows us to experience total presence. For example: Dinner preparation that requires chopping wood, making a fire, cooking on the fire (don’t be distracted by the bear behind you or your food might burn – your choice)….We can’t multitask when we do essential things. We need to be present. Or else we’ll have chopped-off fingers, burnt cabins or burnt food or who knows even encounters with grizzly bears.

After two weeks of off grid living, being offline and unattainable, disconnecting and slowing down, something changed. It was like things shifted, decompressed and reformed again. This made me feel more connected to myself, nature and to the people around me. As if the fresh alpine air had cleansed my mind, I came back to my desk with eagle eye vision, knowing what to do. I was thriving with design ideas and embracing the quiet pauses that appeared between productive and regenerative phases. I learnt to listen and to hear the melody, not the noise. And yes, I think I was a more pleasant person to work with too.