Have you ever stopped to think about just how much time you spend on your phone, tablet or laptop? There’s a good chance that you unknowingly spend hours on these devices each day. While this may be fine for your daily life and not become too much of a distraction, when you are on vacation you can miss out on a lot of stuff if you are looking at a screen all the time and not stopping to enjoy what is going on around you. Unplugging isn’t easy, but is manageable if you want to become a mindful traveler.
Don’t Feel Pressure To Document Every Single Thing
Many of us don’t really remember what it was like to travel without a phone. Still though, this doesn’t mean that we need to be on it all of the time when we are trying to have a nice vacation. Even though everyone else seems to be taking pictures of everything they see on vacation, don’t feel pressured to do so. Do you really need to snap 30 photos of that cool monument to remember it? I’m not saying don’t take any pictures, but you should be limiting the amount of time you are on your phone. This will allow you to really take in what you are taking a picture of so that your only memory of it is of you snapping photos.
Practice Unplugging Ahead Of Time
Your devices are pretty addicting. It is fun to surf the web and go on your social media sites to talk to your friends and to see what they are up too. But, this can get very addicting. The time to unplug for a bit and try to break this addiction isn’t when you are actually on vacation. You will spend half your time wanting to be on your device and the other half feeling guilty about wanting to be on it. Before your vacation, spend a view days limiting the amount of time you look at your phone, tablet or laptop. You will find that it ends up being a lot easier to use these items less when you are at your destination.
Think About What You Are Actually Taking A Picture Of
It’s funny how many things people take pictures of that are really unnecessary. Have you ever been in a restaurant and seen someone taking numerous photos of their food and then upload these photos to social media before they even take a bite. In fact, often times they take so long doing so that their dish is fairly cold by the time they get to consume it! When you are on vacation, be mindful about the types of photos you are taking. Sure, go ahead and snap a pic of a great dish, but don’t spend all of your time doing so. Before taking a photo, ask yourself the question, am I really going to care about this photo in a few years.
Let Others Know You Might Not Be Available For A Bit
Most of us want to be available to our friends and family when they need us. We would feel guilty if we didn’t answer their phone call or text message while on vacation. To keep this guilt at bay, inform the most important people in your life that you won’t be readily available when you are on vacation. This will keep their contact with you at a minimum and you won’t have to worry about feeling guilty because you didn’t respond to their text messages.
Be Careful About Getting Sucked In During Necessary Uses
Using your device during a vacation isn’t all bad. You can use it to look up directions, pull up your confirmation for your hotel or use it as a translator. However, once you use it, you may find that it becomes even easier to justify being on it. Be conscious about what you are using it for. Once you use it for a necessary purpose, put your phone away. Don’t tell yourself that you are just going to use it to check your email or your Facebook messages since your phone is out anyways.
Get Help from an App
Apps such as MOMENT track how much time you spend on your phone and tablet each day. If you are on vacation, you can set daily limits. When you have reached that time limit you will either receive a notification or get kicked off until the time you set up is met.
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