WLC Week 1 WELL-BEING PRACTICE

Overview

This is the suggested Well-Being Practice for week one of the challenge. If this practice does not work for you (for whatever reason), then you can choose from one of our 3 Foundational Well-Being Practices. If you are a veteran player or these three practices are not new to you, then feel free to select from our comprehensive list of Well-Being Practices.

This Week—Digital Sundown

Simple Instructions:

1. Every evening, two hours before bedtime, shut down the use of phones, tablets, and computers, and don’t resume use of them until after one hour after rising in the morning.

2. We suggest a form of “Do Not Disturb” or another temporary form of disabling notifications.

3. Television is not required (but suggested for full effect!)

4. If you use a device as a wellness tool—for meditation, journaling, sleep tracking, etc—you can still use it for that purpose.

5. The objective is to shut out the incoming drone 

Why Is This Practice Important?

It’s become harder for all of us to figure out ways to draw a strong dividing line between all of the spaces we inhabit. Rarely are we in a physical space without being connected to somewhere, something, or someone else through a digital portal. It’s so common, that not allowing it can feel a little bit suffocating or even cut off.

Being able to create real boundaries that give you the ability to focus on what’s right in front of you, without distraction, is a skill that takes a lot more effort and practice than it used to. Being “connected” is the new normal. We’re slowly losing our ability to exist in a “disconnected” way. 

We have to start somewhere if we want to regain some ground and sometimes a cold-turkey approach can make our relationship to the thing clear in a way that we’re unable to see when we’re in it. It can be very uncomfortable and bring up all kinds of anxiety. In spite of the pain it can cause, it’s a good thing to be able to see dependency that clearly. Ultimately, though, it can allow you to get it back on new terms by letting it go.

This may require being a little more thoughtful and proactive about handling things that are electronics related earlier in the day or by dinnertime. You may not keep these changes once the week’s practice comes to an end. You may, however, discover that there are ways to put things to bed, so to speak, much earlier in the day than you have before, leaving you with relaxing free time in the evening to enjoy a home life that is connected to the people around you rather than those you connect to electronically.