Here at the Motion Manor, the Ethical Animation Studio, we will be closing for the Christmas Holidays from the 18th of December until 5th January. We know for most people that isn’t a big deal, but for us... it is. This time, we're doing a full blown digital detox.
2021 has been a rollercoaster of a year with some mountainous high’s and cavernous low’s, so this year we’re doing something a little different.
We don’t need to tell you creating a business is tough. It’s tough on your health, your mindset, your relationships, it’s tough on every aspect of your life. The challenges are there when you wake up, and it’s there when you go to sleep.
Except for one time of the year. Christmas.
Around Christmas, something magical happens.
It’s not the flying reindeers, it’s not the red jumpsuit wearing home invader and it’s not the sudden realisation you can fit twice as much food in your body as you previously thought you could.
People are slower to respond, deadlines get delayed and everyone simultaneously winds down, awaiting the sudden economic shutdown when 1cm of snow hits. It’s the one holiday, you can safely take where your phone probably won’t ring, and if you didn’t answer, the other person probably wouldn’t care? If anything, they’d understand.
What does that mean?
In short, we won’t be accessible by social media, email or phone until the New Year. We’re going to do a hard shutdown and digital detox, to truly refresh ourselves for what is looking to be an incredibly exciting 2022.
For those that don’t know what a digital detox is, WebMD describes it as a period of time where a person intentionally reduce the amount of time that they are using tech devices such as computers, smartphones, TV, tablets, and social media sites.
Digital detoxing can often be seen as a way to focus on real-life social interactions without distractions and to be present, by letting go of the stress that stems from being connected all of the time.
To inspire others to do the same, we thought we’d share with you, some of the steps we’re taking to switch off and be present with those we love.
Before we get into the actions, we just want to caveat this by saying that we are not medical professionals so we also recommend doing your own research and figuring out what will work best for you.
Here’s a list of some of the things we’ll be implementing and you can too:
The constant text, e-mail and endless social media alerts can be super distracting. You know those ones? “This person created a post you don't care about in a group you forgot existed but we wanted to tell you anyway”...
If it was important, we’d go looking for it. We don’t need devices stealing attention away from where it matters most.
We are planning to delete all of our social media apps over the holiday season. Some may see this as extreme, but after losing too many hours this year to the infinite scroll loop (you know exactly what we’re talking about), we wanted to make it easier for us to break the bad habits we currently have.
Some of the activities we are planning on doing;
Local charity stores are a wonderful place to get second-hand puzzles, books and board games. If you don’t have any luck, try Facebook Marketplace.
We’ve had this as a rule for a while, but figured others may not.
To put it simply, no phones or digital devices in rooms you rely on to completely switch off. It’s too easy to take work with you everywhere. So we leave it in our office and it helps us switch off.
There is an abundance of evidence showing how much blue light and devices mess with our sleep.
The challenge with technology is it’s fundamentally designed to be addictive. Social media grabs your attention with futile LinkedIn polls, clickbait youtube videos lure you in and whole seasons of must-watch TV shows are readily accessible.
It’s too easy to say “ten more minutes”, "one more episode" or "one more game".
We now shut all tech devices off at 10 PM where possible and start winding down.
Everyone knows the phrase “time flies when you’re having fun”? Let’s explore that...
In the present, time seems to move faster when you have fun and it seems to move slowly when you’re bored. This is true.
In the future, however, when you are remembering these events, the fun times seem longer, and monotonous periods seem faster.
Why does the opposite effect happen as time progresses?
Remember a time when you looked back and you can barely remember what you did? Time just flew by, days, months, even years? That’s because you didn’t do anything, anything worth remembering anyway. At the very least, you never made a conscious effort to remember.
On the other hand, because you had fun, the memory is...well… memorable. The memories stand out in your brain and thus more memories create a broader sense of time. Time starts to dilate.
Journaling allows you to 'consciously’ anchor your thoughts to the present, even if nothing of note stands out. It allows you to focus more clearly, thus remembering more easily. It will trick your brain into thinking time is moving more slowly.
Don’t believe us? Try it!
Lastly, it’s a good idea to let your loved ones know the steps you plan on taking for your own digital detox. It’s hard to make these changes if the people around you aren’t working with you on it. Otherwise, a loved one could try calling you and think you’re being super rude when you don’t pick up the phone. Probably best not to let that happen...
Our hope is that this article in some way encourages you to to digital detox, or at least have a think about one small change you can make to your holidays to be more present for it.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, the best thing you can do is try.
So which of these will you try over Christmas, or are their any tips we missed that you have already implemented?
Remember, this Christmas, giving presence may be the best gift you can ever give.
Anthony Green (Shamelessly quoting himself, in the third person).
So from the Founders here at Motion Manor.
Have a wonderful Christmas and see you all in the new year!
