My Digital Detox — Week 4 Update

Time away is the ultimate mind reset

This week, I have been away to the east coast of Yorkshire. Reighton is a quiet area south of Filey and Scarborough. There is very little to do in Reighton apart from explore the beach. That’s precisely where I have been most of the week.

There were two mornings where I was privileged to witness a small pod of dolphins carrying of the routine breakfast heist.

Each morning started off with a light breakfast, coffee, and gentle core exercise in the holiday home. I walked down the beach with my family. Beach access is not the easiest to get to, with a steep descent to the gorgeous beach (the uphill climb is truly challenging).

The morning exercise on the beach consisted of a twenty-minute walk along the coast, playing football, cricket and swimming in the sea. By 9am, I was ready to relax with a book while listening to the calming waves in the background. There were certainly moments of gratitude while knowing I was in my ultimate definition of relaxation.

Health

As mentioned above, the week away was a time to focus on my health. Early nights, healthy food, plenty of exercise, meditation, and relaxation by the sea made the week a healthy one.

I don’t remember the last time I walked so much, let alone experience the joy of running along the sea front.

I know when I get home I will have to increase the amount of exercise I do and change the variety. Likewise, I aim to lose more weight, gain muscle mass and improve my core strength.

Analog journaling

I chose to journal in a physical notebook this week while I was away. I enjoyed the change and the freedom to write wherever and whenever I wanted, including random doodles. My journal entries have been scanned into Day One for future reference.

I miss my journaling in a bullet journal. The time sitting down with my Bujo was deeply personal, freeing, and calming. However, I remembered quickly why I decided to go digital — media, links, locations, mood-mapping and ease of access. Still, the experience this week has been fun.

Medium networking

I said I would avoid all forms of social media during my digital detox. I see Medium as a publishing platform for writers to post and readers to consume. I guess those who use Medium frequently would say they are both.

I caught up with my reading list on Medium and explored other material on Medium. I have clapped, made a few comments and followed writers on Medium. So, does this make it a social media platform? Have I gone against what I had originally set out at the start of my digital detox?

My aim was to network with people who share similar values. The platform is fantastic. I enjoy reading content on the platform more than I like any other platform, including YouTube and traditional social media outlets.

Thoughts for the final 10 days

I have ten days until I finish the digital detox. Most of the things I wanted to accomplish during my challenge have been completed.

Technically, I could finish the challenge now, but that would not be a challenge, would it?

I’m not missing the usual platforms like X (Twitter), Twos World and Mastodon. Instead, it’s the lack of YouTube, which has been the greatest challenge for me. I want to watch a few videos about an app I have been using recently for my content management- Anytype. As much as the written tutorials are good, watching a video can sometimes be more than effective for learning for me.

I am excited to interact with others online. A lot has happened over the past month, and I am sure plenty has happened online.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Mark @ CodeMacLife