Power Down

Power Down

I am pretty sure that over the past four years of writing this column, I have mentioned many times the importance of turning off our screens and disconnecting from media so we can reap the many benefits: more calm, more groundedness, less frantic energy, balanced emotions, and deeper connection.

But this past week, my husband and I experienced a whole new level of this, and I have to share it with you.

Lately, I noticed that we had both become increasingly hunched over our phones…in the morning, at work, at home, even sitting together. What stood out most to me was how automatic it had become. I could barely go a short while before reaching for my phone to check something, anything.

So I thought - what if we truly powered down for 24 hours?

Not just unplugging for an hour or silencing notifications but really turning it all off.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, we powered down our phones and laptops. I tucked the phones deep inside my briefcase, and we put away the computers.

I expected we’d feel some relief and maybe a little extra connection, but I didn’t realize how profound it would feel. We made dinner together, which is becoming a rare event in our busy household. We sat on the couch eating dessert and talked for hours with real eye contact and no distractions.

Throughout the evening, we kept instinctively reaching for our phones to answer little questions like:
What’s tomorrow’s weather?
What was that soup recipe?
When is your next business trip?

Each time we stopped ourselves. We realized the weather could wait. The recipe was in an old cookbook on the shelf. The travel dates were written on the paper calendar hanging in the closet.

The next morning, we had a peaceful breakfast. Later, my nephew called the landline because he had left something important at our house and asked if we could meet him north of Bucksport on his way home from Acadia.

Again, our first instinct was to grab our phones and use Google Maps. Instead, we pulled out a giant old paper map and found our route the old-fashioned way.

That day, we accomplished a tremendous amount of work both outside and inside. I spent time writing in a notebook with a pen, which is still my favorite way to gather ideas for this column.

When 5 p.m. arrived that evening, neither of us wanted to reconnect just yet. So we stayed powered down through the night and turned our phones back on the next morning.

Life kept moving. Work, relationships and responsibilities all continued. But we were more present with ourselves, with each other, and with the people around us. The simple moments felt more genuine in a way. I felt a much needed deeper connection with Carsten.

I know powering down completely is not always possible, especially during busy workweeks. And yes, we disappointed a few people by not answering immediately. But the benefits far outweighed the inconvenience.

I leave you with this thought: unplugging for an hour is very different from truly powering down. One is a short break. The other is a reset.

I highly recommend it. We can’t wait to do it again.

Love and gratitude,
Joanne

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” — Christian Lous Lange

“Offline is the new luxury.” – Pico Iyer

“Disconnect to connect.” – unknown (often used in digital detox movements)