How disconnecting helps you relax

by Elizabeth McBride

Recently my husband and I bought a coupon for a two-night stay at a resort and spa. It’s a challenge for us to get away for vacation because of his business schedule and my work, so a short stay was a perfect way to reset our lives.

Our everyday life consists of multiple check-ins via cell phone from my mom who has Type 1 Diabetes and lives alone, calls and emails from clients for my husband’s framing business, my occasional work from home, a bouncy Puggle, Iggy, and a dignified cat, Miss Elly. To say that we needed to disconnect and recharge was an understatement.

No interruptions

On our trip, we discovered that it’s incredible to have a conversation without interruption from our cell phones and iPads, pets, check-in duties, and other responsibilities. We finished our thoughts and shared our hopes for the future.

We began to reconnect as a couple again, realizing that at home, we had become stuck in a device rut. When we got home from a long day at work, we got on our phones. Or once we started talking about the day, it was time for my mom’s check-in or a dog walk. It was endless. It was not sabbath keeping, and it was making us anxious and cranky.

Relax and recharge

Now, following our trip, we are trying to set time aside to relax and recharge. The phones are going on silent, the check-ins will be preemptive, the emails to clients will have to wait, and the dog walking is for our pleasure as well as Iggy’s.

Do you give yourself and family time away from your cell phones or digital devices and other responsibilities? Has that time away helped you to stay more focused and connected to the people in your life?

Elizabeth McBride, director for intergenerational programs and editor of Cafe, wrote this blog after returning home from a relaxing vacation, and she hopes by the time it’s published, she is still living out her cellphone sabbath. This Throwback Thursday blog was first in 2015.