Digital Detox and the Power of a 10-Minute Phone Free Walk

Photo by Markus Winkler

It's ironic that I am posting online about disconnecting. It is also becoming more difficult every day to not be attached to a device.

The struggle is real as the saying goes. While I am not a doctor, psychologist, or scientist, I know the brain sends signals that give a person a feeling of connection and sends other signals of enjoyment.

Why would a person want to give that up?

There are lots of reasons why we justify the need to be with our phones. For most of us, it started out as just to be social, but now it's an addiction. It also may be because of work, staying attached to communicate with a sick family member, being able to respond to your kids or parents, or just waiting for a friend to reach out.

The result of being attached to our phone so much is we feel trapped, often times not even realizing we are feeling being locked in a room with the walls starting to close in on us. We have all been in a situation where once you are removed from the event, you feel like there is a weight off of your shoulder. It could be a bad situation at work, a breakup from a bad relationship, or the stress of any situation. When the event ends, there is a sense of relief.

Recently, I just read that when you scroll on social media, your brain gets these small dopamine hits. What is really happening is your brain is getting flooded with artificial dopamine hits all day long. The long-term result is your real life starts to look boring. Things that used to be fun and exciting to you are now not very exciting. Pick up a book, nah. Go out and see people, why? Things seem more fun on your phone.

But how can disconnect? First, you have to make the mental shift that the world is not going to come to an end if you are not connected to your phone. I know this is really, really, really hard but I am sure you already disconnect and don't even know it, maybe when jumped in the pool or ocean this summer, or even the shower each day. We are all so protective of our phones, not just because of the need to be connected, but because they are so expensive and we don't want to get them ruined with water and thus, we break the connection with the phone to go into the water.

For me, when the pandemic started, I needed the mental break and decided that I was going to leave my phone in the house after lunch and take a 10-minute walk outside. I found this process liberating and came to realize that the world didn't come to an end (even with the global pandemic) and when I returned from my 10-minute walk, all was back to normal. I also found this short walk without my phone gave me a recharge for the second half of the day to keep me productive. I still do it today during every workday.

Try it for yourself, take 10 minutes and walk outside. When you return, I am sure everything will still be the same. And while you are there, maybe enjoy the fresh air!

Cover photo credit to Kelly Sikkema

Simple Daily Walks for Better Health and Mindset

Photo by Youcef Chenzer

While I am not in a sales position anymore, I spent most of my career in sales and most recently in a few customer facing leaderships roles. I never considered myself the best salesperson or the quickest on my feet to answer questions. I also wasn't the person people gravitated to at the bar to hear a great story or a funny joke (although I do try my best with some dad jokes from time to time).

When I was interacting with a customer, what I could control was my responses. I always tried to be open, honest, and focused on giving responses that were deliberate and thoughtful. It was what I could control to perform at my best.

As a result, I always strived to be at the top of my game because sales didn't come easy or natural to me, and I needed every advantage I could leverage. This is why walking was such a critical step to gain that clarity and focus.

Finding Clarity Through Walking

For as long as I can remember in my professional career, I would walk at least a few days a week before work. I do remember in my 30's though, there were some days when I just didn't feel like it and would wake up to a much longer hot shower than normal and bypass the walk. I thought it did the same thing, but I was wrong. When I did walk, it was a brisk 15-minute pace around my neighborhood which consisted of a pretty big hill for half of the 3/4 mile (1.2 kilometer) trip.

Resilience After a Health Scare

Then something happened. I ran into a medical issue in my early 40's where I was in the ICU for 11 days. A few weeks prior, I had an issue where my vein was rubbing against my bone, and it got aggravated and formed blood clots. This is the same issue that many sports professionals get when they do a lot of body movements above their shoulders- most notably was Victor Wembanyama and similarly with Damian Lillard (although he had it in his leg). I got the clots removed and then the bone removed causing the problem and all was good, up until the anti-coagulant (also known as blood thinners) drug I was on caused me to lose 1/3 of my body's blood and collapse my lung. It was an unexpected and very rare complication to a seemingly successful surgery the week prior.

It was also a reminder to me that I don't do well with prescription medication and why I spend so much time to make sure I don't need to be on them.

Coming out of the hospital, I struggled to walk and every step I took was painful as it was so much effort on my body. But each day I walked, I found it was better than the day prior. Over time, about 2 months later, I was just about back to normal.

Building a Lifelong Routine

For me, partly to stay healthy, and partly to keep the discipline, I decided to walk every day. My 11 days in the ICU didn't cause a radical life event like taking up rock climbing or trying out for American Ninja Warrior (as I watched it on the last day of my hospital stay). But it did cement the idea that walking was necessary for my long-term health.

Every workday, including when I travel, I walk for about 15 minutes in the morning, and usually a longer walk (few miles) with Mary Beth on a Sunday morning. My morning walks are the same brisk walks that I have been doing for so many years.

I know many of you do the same (and hopefully I can inspire those who don't walk to do so). But here is where I may differ from many in my daily walking routine. I start by moving my arms in multiple directions, including recently crossing my body as I read that of all sports athletes, tennis players live the longest (9 years based on the study I read vs. other athletes) partly due to the cross-body motion (although I haven't taken up pickleball yet). I then take a portion of my trip and switch between walking is on a smooth street and the other part of my walk is on a very uneven sidewalk from the tree roots (kind of mimicking walking in the woods in uneven ground which gets the mind to think differently).

In addition, there is a portion of the time where I run. This part I actually hate but it loosens up different muscles and my lungs. Lastly, I walk backwards and then skip for a bit as it trains the brain to think differently due to the non-traditional movement (I also incorporated brushing my teeth with my opposite hand, which took some time to get used to, for the same reason).

The other thing I am consistent with is walking at relatively the same time each workday, roughly between 6:00 and 6:30 am, rain or shine. The only time I don't walk is when it is pouring out or there is snow or ice on the road. For those days, we bought a stepper which I use periodically.

I have also recently been reading that it is more important for your blood sugar (again I am not a doctor or medical professional) to walk for about 10 minutes after a meal. The short time walking does wonders to help regulate the blood sugar. I have recently been incorporating that into my daily routine as well with my dogs (two long haired dachshunds) getting the benefits after lunch and dinner.

Lastly, and this might be a deal breaker for many, I go on all of my walks in my neighborhood and with Mary Beth without my phone. It's a bit of a detox and a great opportunity to listen to the sounds of nature. Conversely, I do use my phone when I am traveling more for safety than anything else.

This was a long story to share that I walk 15 minutes each morning and more recently, 10 minutes after each meal.

For those who don't walk or just walk periodically, my advice is just start.

Cover photo credit to Chris Hardy