Day 1: Withdrawal Is Real

Hour 1: I felt confident, like I was on a productivity retreat. I cleaned the kitchen, made tea, even journaled for 10 minutes (who am I?).

Hour 5: Panic set in. What if I missed an emergency? What if someone texted “hey” and now thinks I’m ghosting them? I reached for my phone five times before realizing it wasn’t there. My thumb literally twitched.

Hour 10: I noticed the quiet. Not just around me — inside my brain. No noise, no scrolling. I started a book I bought six months ago. That night, I fell asleep without blue light burning my eyeballs. Weirdly peaceful.

Day 2: The Clarity Kicks In

Morning: I woke up naturally. No alarm, no snooze-button dance. I made breakfast without a podcast. I watched the eggs sizzle. It felt... oddly cinematic?

Afternoon: I went outside. No GPS, no playlist. Just me and the wind and a weirdly aggressive pigeon. My mind started daydreaming again. It was like giving my brain a deep stretch.

Evening: I wrote down five ideas for work, just from letting my brain wander. Normally, I'd fill those moments with TikToks I’d forget in 10 seconds.

What I Learned

• I don’t need my phone as much as I think I do.

• Most texts, emails, and DMs can wait.

• My sleep improved. My focus came back. My boredom gave birth to creativity.

Final Thoughts: Will I Do It Again?

Yes — but maybe not every week. The world we live in is digital, and staying connected matters. But giving yourself space from constant pings and swipes is like hitting reset on your nervous system. If you’ve never tried a digital detox, I 100% recommend doing it — even for a day.

Try it for yourself.
Start with 12 hours. Then maybe 24. Who knows — 48 might change your life a little too.