Challenge for Growth Prompt #7: I Unplug

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I unplug

This week’s challenge is:

“Today I unplug.”

Don’t panic. I’m not talking about totally unplugging. But think of how much time during the day you spend engaged with emails, texting, instant messages, Facebook, Instagram, Linked-In, Twitter, Snapshot, surfing the Internet, video gaming, online shopping, talking on the phone, etc.  Bloggers, how much additional time do you spend reading or writing blog posts, or looking at your stats? What would you think and feel if you no longer had access to a phone, laptop or other electronic device? Does the thought of not having those things bring you a sense of relief, panic or something else?

For 1, 2, 3 days or longer commit to unplugging for some period of time. Pick a time of day when you normally use those devices and then set an amount of time to unplug that would challenge you, but not set you up for failure.

Sometime during the week, write a post about some aspect of this topic or about experiences you had when you unplugged. Feel free to use whatever form you desire: i.e., prose, story, poem, photograph, etc.  (If you don’t have a blog, please share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.)

 

General Prompt Information:

New prompts will be posted at 5 a.m. (PST) every Wednesday.

Since it is easier to make behavioral changes if we focus on them one day at a time, each of the weekly challenges will start with “Today, I focus on…….” It will be up to you to decide how long you want to focus on a particular challenge— one, two, three days or even longer. At some point during the week, publish a post that relates in some way to the subject of the week.

Link your post back to this prompt post. If the pingback doesn’t work, then leave the link to your post in the comment section below.  Be sure to include “Challenge for Growth Prompts” as one of your tags.

Throughout the week, I will publish the links for the posts that were created as the result of this prompt.  I will also post the links from those who participated the previous week. That way they will be seen by anyone who comes to this page.



This week’s contributors to I unplug:

Challenges for growth prompts/unplug- Annette’s place

Unplugged- Home and Loving It

I Unplugged!- Living, Learning and Letting Go

OFF- Nik’s Place

How about you?

Last week’s contributors to I listen attentively:

I Hear You- Nik’s Place

Please Listen to Me- Living, Learning and Letting Go

Challenge for Growth Prompt #6- Home and Loving It

Challenge for growth prompts/#6- Annette’s Place



28 thoughts on “Challenge for Growth Prompt #7: I Unplug”

  1. As I believe I mention to you, I very recently had 12 days off-line through a technical failing that affected my whole village. By day 5 I was rather enjoying the disconnect, yet at the same time knowing the backlog of emails was becoming increasingly daunting – a double-edged sword!

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    1. I knew you had been offline but I didn’t know why. I think I would eventually enjoy it too but the email and blogging would be a rough transition I think. But I do want to get better balance though. I’m going to start with three hours unplugged, starting today.

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  4. It is funny because I just told my sister I am going to lay down and relax til tommorw. I said I am going to check out the prompt and that was that…..lol! I do have family issues going on that I have to answer the phone to them but otherwise it will be no blogging, facebook, apps, games, or texting. Only answering to my kids and mom! Wish me luck! By 6pm I will start and go until I wake up tomorrow. (evenings and late late nights I blog the most) Good idea!

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  5. Pingback: Challenge for Growth Prompt #7: I Unplug – Annette's place
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  8. Hello everyone, as all of you know i am just starting my little blog and by the moment i hv thought to further it with all of your collaborations and help but due to my one interview & another exam coming i am being unable to engage with my blogging. I am missing it!
    And Karuna , as i know you are someone who for the first time value-added to my (whatever be) works , i really appreciate you a lot!

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  12. I really appreciate this post and it’s interesting to see the observations that flooded in from just a few hours unplugged. I noticed several years ago that my ability to focus has gone way down. I used to be able to sit and read for hours; now I find myself restless after an hour or less. I really believe my brain changed from sitting in front of a computer at work for most of the day, and immediately responding to emails as soon as I got a notification. Part of the reason was to keep up with the large volume of emails that would come in, because it was easy to have dozens of emails come within hours. Many of the emails were just the usual UW announcements I could toss after a quick glance, but it was still overwhelming and took diligence to keep my inbox manageable. More and more, however, I saw that I used email as a way to distract me from some unpleasant task that required focus and attention. I think this habit changed my ability/willingness to focus, even when I’m doing something I want to do.
    re. phones, I have had a very hard time standing within a few feet of another human being, in an elevator for example, with absolutely no acknowledgement because the other person was involved with his/her phone. It feels completely unnatural, against our very nature. At some point we’ll have a better idea of why we are mesmerized by our electronic equipment.
    There’s a fascinating documentary called Life 2.0 about developing a persona and relationships in a virtual world. You can watch it for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwD7u7wwcY

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