Have you considered the benefits of putting your phone down and fully focusing on what’s in front of you? What might it be like to do something and not have the constant sound of notifications beeping? I used to be the person with my phone constantly in my hand, always scrolling, every rest period unlocking my phone and checking if there had been anything new happen in the last 60 seconds searching for that dopamine hit… Until I wasn’t! It HAD to change.
I’ve been testing out a new thing for a while now: unplugging to recharge. From leaving the house I have my phone in my bag and walk to the gym. Upon arriving, walking through the door of the changing room and setting my bag on the side, pulling out my towel and water and popping the bag in the locker, ensuring my Beats are in my ears for some tunes to move to! Music on, I head to the gym floor and check my training plan.
Now it’s time to train! I’m a weightlifter and I love the feeling of challenging myself. Putting social media away whilst doing this has increased my training by at least 25%. This is because I’m focused on the weights and not on what drama is going on social media, who has commented on my latest post or thinking about what photo to take for the next piece of content.
Instead, my attention is on the weight, the reps, and counting. Seeing what more I’m capable of is so rewarding (and of course lying on the floor in-between sets to recover!)
Since putting my phone away I’ve leaned out and lost fat, decreased my recovery time, got stronger and been enjoying my workouts so much more, always smiling even to the last rep. Now these are the kind of dopamine hits you really need in your life!
No more relying on external factors to make me feel good, I do that on my own, in my own “me time” and the results speak for themselves.
When you exercise consistently not only does your physical health improve, but your mental health does also too. It’s not all about weightlifting though. We all need to exercise, but you need to find something which you enjoy, and which you will stick to. Consistency = success. The stronger your body becomes, the stronger your mind becomes, and your quality of life will improve too. You’ll have more energy, more confidence, and you will smile more. And who knows, you might just meet some new friends to be social with in the offline world too! So why not get yourself a new plan, try something new like Pilates, yoga, a dance class or a brisk walk and make some time for some exercise. Leave your phone at home this week because you deserve the time out.
Top tips:
- If you need your phone to check your training plan or for music, put it aeroplane mode so the notifications don’t come up
- Ideally leave your phone in your locker (you will survive!)
- Give yourself permission to have this time out
- Wait until you are back in a different environment (car, home, office etc.) before you check your phone again
- Be consistent, get at least 30 minutes of exercise in per day
- Find something you enjoy
- Challenge yourself – set a goal to achieve
What will you commit to this week to get more active and away from social media?
By Natalie Bailey
Natalie Bailey is Confidence and Life Coach and Property Developer. Founder of Gold Star Life and co-founder of Bailey Enterprises (with her Mum, Paula). Through a combination of 121 coaching, Masterminds and Retreats she help entrepreneurs who feel stuck to gain direction and unleash their inner confidence in order to lead healthier, wealthier and happier lives.
Host of the top 2.5% globally ranked podcast Confidence Mastery https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/confidence-mastery/id1497917418
This is great, I’m terrible with my phone. Thank you for the tips xx
Excellent advise and a friendly reminder that life exists outside our phones living life in real time not though a screen!!
Natalie is a great mentor and advocate for entrepreneurs to go and grab their goals (and kick their arse to get there) keep doing what you do !!
This is so good reminds me of the days before social media and there was nothing but serious training in the gym. In the moment present and focused I need to get back to less distractions and living more in the moment. Thanks for the advice 🙏🏼
A really interesting concept backed up by Natalie’s vast experience in this area. The world needs to hear more of this ladies thoughts.
Totally … I’m a runner… I switch off and run.. No distractions, not even music..
Airplane mode is a great idea! I’m going to try that to help me with deep work time on Monday morning!
I love the idea of unplugging. It’s such an easy thing to do when you think about it, but the rewards can be huge.
Great but if content and certainly need to take more time out away from my phone, at times we feel like our phone is our third hand it’s not and whatever gets out on social media now or in 1 hour it will be there in 4,5,6,7 hours later.
Great post Natalie. Yes, we all must give ourselves permission to be in the moment.
Scary thought putting my phone down but I do love the potential upsides you describe!
This is so true especially when you have children, modelling the right thing and being present for them and their moments rather than recording them for some unspecified point in the future