Login

I’ve been trying to use a digital detox to reclaim my attention, but I’m finding it just makes me more anxious about missing something important. My work and family all need to reach me, so completely unplugging feels irresponsible, but the constant notifications were making it impossible to focus. Has anyone found a practical middle ground that actually works?

I tried a middle ground by keeping the phone on but using DND with a couple of strict exceptions. My wife and kids were whitelisted and I scheduled two alert check ins during the day. The rest stayed silent. It helped me do deep work in the morning, but I still felt anxious about missing something with deadlines creeping up. Not perfect, but it felt doable.

The anxiety seems loud sometimes. Maybe the detox wasn't the issue, just the pace of work. I still checked when I felt I might miss a meeting, and it was still a distraction.

What if the problem isn't the notifications but the expectation we put on being reachable 24/7? I tried turning everything off and it didn’t feel right either.

I moved the phone to another room during a long block of work and then checked back in. It felt odd at first, but I started getting actual work done. Then a family thing happened and I realized maybe I should have been accessible. It drifted into thinking about how much of our attention is tied to fear of missing something, not our ability to concentrate.

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me