We love our PCs, Macs, smartphones and other gadgets – but there are times when you have to take a break. Why? Because it will make you feel better. These breaks you can take don’t have to be for long periods of time, but a periodic no-electronics break of 10 to 15 minutes does the soul good.
1. Read Books and Newspapers
Many say the printed page is a dying art. Maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find a book or newspaper to read when you want to.
2. Use a Mechanical Camera
Taking photos with a camera that has no battery, must have film advanced with manual winding and leaves you with absolutely no clue whether the shots will be good or not is a bit of a mini-adventure – and is one worth taking.
Suggestions for your photos:
- Don’t take photos of anything close-up because they’ll probably look terrible.
- Purposely use black-and-white film. Not only is it cheaper but will make for some cool artsy shots.
- An easy shot is any street intersection. For some reason they look really cool in black-and-white on film.
3. Handwrite a daily planner
Need better organization of your time? A handwritten daily planner works a lot better than your smartphone will. Why? Because physically writing things down commits appointments to memory, as in your brain’s memory, better than punching them in on tactile or touchscreen keys. Even if you use a stylus, putting ink to paper is the best way to go.
You’ll be amazed at how often you write things down once you start doing it regularly. You’ll also be amazed at how much easier you start to remember the stuff you wrote down previously.
4. Engage in no-shopping trips
A no-shopping trip is when you walk around stores with absolutely no intention of buying anything. Whether you go alone, with friends, family or a significant other, this is actually not a bad way to spend your time. Stores spend a lot of time putting an effort towards making things look nice.
If you absolutely have to do something while on your no-shopping trip, bring along a notepad and pen and start jotting things down. Compare the prices you find in the retail stores to the prices you find online when you get back home. You might find the store was the better deal all along.
5. Turn off the phone
This, sadly, is something many people simply cannot bring themselves to do even for a short period of time.
If you cannot turn off your cell phone for at least 10 minutes without feeling jittery, anxious or outright having a panic attack – you’ve got a problem and need to address it.
And I don’t want to hear that "But what if.." argument. Life is full of what-ifs. Your phone being turned off for 10 measly minutes will not result in the end of the world.
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