N2L micro-challenge: No screens for 8 waking hours

Easier said than done ... at first. But there are good reasons to embrace intermittent fasting with our devices. Here's a protocol I'm trying — and tips to make it work.

Warmup

In 2013, I was about to interview the author Sebastian Junger (“The Perfect Storm”) for The Wall Street Journal. Right before we went on stage in the picture above, Junger told me he carried an old-school flip phone (which I believe is sitting atop his wallet on the table here) and not a smartphone because it reduced distractions and helped his creative work.

I never forgot that. And I’ve been thinking about it more having just finished Junger’s important new book “In My Time of Dying.”

So this month, I’m trying a new Not Too Late (N2L) micro-challenge to reduce my “sitting and screens” time — something I write extensively about in my book.

This micro-challenge is an intermittent device fasting protocol on Saturday designed to be slightly uncomfortable (at first) but doable. Hence the “micro” part.

I’m not giving up my smartphone. I’m trying to change my relationship with it.

Summary

Here are things we may know but often either put aside or aren’t sure how to correct for and still live in the modern world.

• Americans reportedly are on their screens more than 7 hours a day on average. That’s more time than some of us sleep.

• Text Neck Syndrome is now being flagged as a new epidemic. And neck pain, globally, is as prevalent as low back pain, according to one analysis.

  • Research suggests Text Neck Syndrome comes from our posture using cellphones and computers.

  • In particular, Forward Head Posture (FHP) leads to problematic mechanical strain forces on the joints and ligaments of the cervical spine.

• Computer Vision Syndrome is also a real thing. Looking at a handheld device or computer can make the eyes work harder than viewing a printed page. The letters sometimes aren’t as sharply defined and there’s glare.

  • Symptoms include: eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry eyes.

• Digital devices can dramatically harm creativity and even productivity when we’re constantly pinging back and forth between apps and tasks.

I’m concerned about all of the above. So here’s what I’m doing about it.

As always, we’re not going to boil the ocean. This protocol is adaptable so it can work for you. Like a diet or workout routine, the best option is the one we’ll stick to.

Post

First, the “to be sure.”

To be sure, there’s a lot of good that comes from technology. I work for a tech startup. Being on screens is how I earn a living. It lets me regularly connect with people in faraway places that I don’t see but still care about. My health and fitness can be tracked with precision once reserved for labs and doctors.

I am grateful for all of this.

What I don’t love is the feeling that EVERYTHING now has some connection to a screen.

My to-do list. My memories of people. My news consumption. My conversations with people. Music, weather, shopping, meditation, writing, etc. You get it.

I don’t love how dry my eyes feel during the day. Or the headache I feel Friday night after a week of virtual meetings.

And I particularly don’t love the twitch I sometimes feel to swipe my finger across the screen and get that a mice-in-a-cage-seeking-food dopamine hit of a text response, “like” or “comment” or “new subscriber” notification.

So here’s a step I’m taking.

The Saturday 8 waking hours micro-challenge

I’ve tried intermittent fasting (time-restricted eating) in the past, which entailed eating only in an 8-hour window during the day and not eating for 16 hours.

Now I’ve put that concept to practice with my screens on Saturday. Informally I think of it as “no screens til 2 Saturdays”.

This includes all screens, including the TV. The one exception: I can take or make a phone call if necessary — it’s the “flip phone” exception.

Important note: Saturday is the day that works for me. You might want to try a different day. Or reduce or increase the “fasting” window time. Or put some other exceptions into play if you’ve got kids or something critical with work pending.

The point is detaching from the screens as much as possible for some extended period of time.

My night-before prep:

1. I told the people closest to me who might worry if they didn’t hear from me what I was attempting to do. My best friend texted back: “Is everything OK?” Which made me know I was onto something.

2. I transferred anything non-digital that needed accomplishing onto a piece of paper from my Todoist app and my Final Surge workout program app.

3. I started to set up Do Not Disturb notifications but got annoyed that I was spending more time on a screen doing this — and just told myself to “not look.”

What I didn’t do from 6 am to 2 pm on Saturday:

• Wordle. Text. Email.

• Check my Oura ring stats or my continuous glucose monitor (I wear this for health informational purpose, not due to a diabetes diagnosis).

• I didn’t look at the news. I didn’t look at social media. I didn’t turn on the television. I didn’t listen to podcasts or stream music from a screen-device.

• I didn’t take pictures, use Waze, look at Slack, check my calendar, or the weather.

• I didn’t use the timer on my phone when I stretched.

What did instead:

Woke up and ignored the habitual itch to grab my phone.

Instead, I put one hand on the shoulder of my still-sleeping spouse and the other on our still-sleeping dog. I stayed like that for 15 minutes.

Brainstormed some speech topics. Thought about this newsletter.

Made coffee. Sat on the couch and wrote notes about ideas I was having in a spiral notebook. Drank coffee next to my closed computer.

Put in 19,884 steps as I ran/climbed 7.35 miles through the Hudson Highlands hills before the tourists descended.

Made one phone call to my wife to tell her I was done and safe. (Successfully ignored the alerts piling up on my phone.)

Swung by our local bookstore to sign some copies of my book NOT TOO LATE for readers. (Thank you!)

Talked to the cat at the bookstore. (Unexpected conversation #1.)

Bought an egg, bacon and cheese biscuit at the local bakery. Was happy not to check my continuous glucose monitor. Talked to the cashier about the influx of tourists to our town. (Unexpected conversation #2.)

Walked up the street and admired a golden retriever sitting on the stoop with his owner. (Unexpected conversation #3.)

Went home. Stretched and counted to myself (versus using the cellphone timer).

Groomed our dog. Bathed the dog. Read the local newspapers while I ate lunch.

Took a quick nap with the wet dog.

Woke up and it was after 2 pm.

Looked at my phone. The digital world had gone on without me and was still there waiting. I rejoined it. I didn’t feel like I’d missed much.

Cooldown

It’s 4:47 pm and writing these words for the past hour are the first time I’ve extensively looked at a screen today.

Is this a heroic feat? No. Is it progress? I think so. Having deployed this strategy a few times now, I find myself now looking forward to next week’s “device fast.” I’m also starting to bring this concept into the work week.

• Not checking my phone until I’ve made coffee.

• Reading a book a couple of times a week before bed versus watching something on a screen.

• Not looking at any texts while I walk the dog.

Longer read: The book “Slow Productivity” by Cal Newport. I’m starting this book now and thinking about how to apply the concepts.

Short read: A report about the what’s driving “Text Neck Syndrome.”

Short read: More on the causes of “Computer Vision Syndrome” — and what to do about it.

Thanks for reading. The irony of this topic written in a digital newsletter is not lost on me. As always, find something you love. Dig in. Stick with it when things get hard.

Wendy

P.S. If you’ve got tips for managing device time better, I’d love to hear them.