This one day of the week is Saturday. For 25 hours, starting Friday evening until Saturday night. It may come as a surprise to some people... but this makes Saturday my favorite day of the week!
I enjoy using my phone and school is something on which I spend a lot of time, so I need to use my laptop and iPad rather often... but there is a difference between wanting and needing to use all these electronics, and being addicted to them. While a lot of the time I actually do need to be on my electronics, majority of the time I honestly don’t. I look at my phone over and over again... to the point where I sometimes give myself a headache 😕 (anyone else get migraines when looking at screens for too long)? Or I’ll consistently unlock my iPad to look at my calendar (because I sometimes get overly anxious about school assignment due dates).
Having a day where you tell yourself that you are going to have none of that... that you will not be checking your social media, assignment dates, calendar, or anything really that doesn’t pertain to your present moment... is very freeing. You may be thinking that you would be feeling FOMO or the complete opposite of free since you don’t have anything to turn to when you get bored.
Once you turn off your phone, though, you are free to do other things without distraction (We all know we get distracted by our electronics, even if we tell ourselves that we don’t). You are free of the constant curiosity if someone messaged you or liked your picture. Maybe your mind doesn’t want to let these things go, but your brain and body need it. The crazy thing is that you don’t even realize this until you try it. I know so many people who have tried this and said they wanted to start doing it consistently. They have even applied this to their lives on a regular basis. Even if they know they can't manage a whole day without their phones, they do this for half a day or so.
I have read several articles here and there (not intentionally, but seen it on Facebook or another site) that discuss how increased mobile phone use/social media correlates to sleep disturbances, stress, and depression! Here is one such study done on young adults: click here! Removing yourself from your electronics for one day per week may not be the solution to all the negative effects of high-frequency mobile use, but it definitely makes a world of a difference.
I enjoy doing this so much, that I plan my entire week around it. I make sure to get assignments done before Friday at sunset so that I don’t have to worry about them. If I have an assignment or something else scheduled for Saturday, I do everything in my power to get it done beforehand or schedule it for another day. If I have an exam coming up and need to study, I will print out my notes. I will only do things that don’t require me to turn on my phone and laptop. If that means not driving somewhere I can get to only with the use of navigation (which is on my phone), then I don't go there on Saturday. May sound strange (yes, it's super unconventional), but it's all worth it in the end.
If you haven't ever considered this form of mental/emotional cleanse- I highly recommend it! You may be surprised!
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Note: the main reason I don’t use electronics on Saturday is because of the Sabbath. However, there are aspects to this holiday that anyone can relate to regardless of religion. Therefore, I actually can’t use my phone for religious reasons which definitely makes it a lot easier to abstain from using my phone... but I’ve come to love this aspect of the holiday and think everyone can gain from it. I know people who don't do this for religious reasons because they have noticed the benefits!