I feel that we have been hearing the term, “unplugged” a lot more frequently lately. It is the ability to unplug, both practically and symbolically, from our daily lives and simply focus on the here and now. I think this term has so much more meaning these days with social media and issues with work-life-balance continuously infiltrating our every day lives and why is that? What has changed?
Prior to social media, we had other ways of communicating with our friends, families and acquaintances but we often were not bombarded with socializing on a daily basis. Now, we have access to anyone, at, really, any time of the day. We know more about people that we may not even know, than we might about a neighbour who is not on social media. We have more access to multimedia than ever before, with WIFI all over the map, unlimited data on our devices and so many different outlets for sending and receiving video, images and text. It is no wonder that we are often exhausted and need a moment to “unplug”. In addition to all of that, we have entered a new form of entrepreneurial life. Essentially we have a lot more people becoming their own bosses, making extra money on the side, or connecting to their work remotely. Therefore, we have a lot more access to our work when we are out of the office and in our own homes. What does this create? Difficulties with work-life-balance. Now, don’t get me wrong, this new-age work life has it’s advantages. More than anything, it has opened up so many opportunities for careers that were unimaginable before. It has also given a rise to “stay-at-home moms” turned “mom bosses”, which I am ALL for. But it also has allowed for work to seep into our everyday life more-so than it may have before. We can quite literally bring it home with us by simply opening up our laptop in our living room or looking down at our phone and seeing a work email pop up. With work on our devices, are we ever really, unplugged?
Have you ever experienced a day when you have an actual “day off” and somehow, someway that person you’ve been needing a response from finally sends you that email and you have to address it out of fear that you may miss this opportunity? Or when you’ve had a scheduled day off and you see an email that completely changes your mood because something has gone wrong and now you have anxiety about it? What can we do to avoid this when we are completely bombarded with emails and notifications? Well, we can shut all of the notifications off but how annoying is that? Come Monday we are going to need to remember to turn it all back on and that’s just too much work.
That’s where this “Unplugged” notion is really coming into play. We have heard it. It is not a new concept, but it is needed now more than ever. If you are someone who is great a creating boundaries for yourself, you have probably already mastered some of this concept. Turning off the device, not checking social media, disconnecting from the outside world. But the true idea behind being unplugged is being present. So often, we are not in the present moment due to all of the external distractors that bombard us on a daily basis. I am not only referring to social media and our inability to multitask while scrolling. I am also talking about the idea of being physically present but emotionally/mentally absent. Perhaps we are thinking about work, and what we need to do tomorrow in the office. We might see that email and know that we have to respond but our partner is in the middle of telling a story about the day they had. All the while, you’re ruminating on the work email you need to attend to, so you’re actually missing the entire story. Being unplugged means so much more than putting down the devices. It means, tuning in.
This past weekend I went away for a few days with my daughter to spend time with my parents. I did not have service, so I simply had to unplug, I did not really have a choice. I tried my best to not become anxious about this and ensure that I did check in with my husband once in a while because I did not want him to worry. But I also embraced this opportunity to really be in tune with how I was feeling. I noticed my desire to scroll through my phone in moments of boredom, and instead, try to embrace it. Instead of having the needless distraction of my phone, I would focus on the person in front of me without checking an email or text popping up. I recognized the moments when I would have to literally look for my phone to take a photo of something because it wasn’t in my vicinity, which never usually happens. By choice or not, it was a good reminder to take more time to do that for myself and my family. I have the luxury of knowing what life was like prior to cellphones, devices, social media or the internet. My children will not. So I want to ensure there are times when we truly unplug and be present, otherwise, they will not have the opportunity to develop that skill themselves.
This post is a simple reminder to make the time. Boundary out some quality time with yourself or people you love the most. Whoever would benefit from undivided attention. Unplug from the day-to-day and be present. It is simply good for the mind, body and soul.
xox
