Bleary-eyed, you reach out to your phone to turn off the alarm. As sleepy as you are, you still find it in you to check your Instagram. Your friend who has jumped on the healthy eating bandwagon has posted a picture of her healthy breakfast; fresh fruit, an egg white omelette and a tiny sliver of brown bread (no butter). Next thing you know, you’ve opened three different browsing windows; one for simple, healthy diet recipes, another article listing the benefits of olive oil, and a third window, where you’ve googled “how long does it take to lose weight on a healthy diet”. What started off as a quick 2-minute notification check has turned into an hour-long social media trawl where you’ve decided to make three major lifestyle changes and changed your mind just as quickly. This scenario repeats itself, every day of the week.

If this sounds like you, you my friend, have a problem. But worry not, because most of us are in the same boat. And that boat, needs to dock at a remote island with no cell phone reception.

We’ve all heard of a digital detox. The glamorous ones usually involve retreating to a remote beachside or jungle resort with rounds of sun, sand, yoga and cocktails. While a five-day retreat will hardly put a dent in almost a lifetime of social media abuse, it’ll certainly give you the push you need to set yourself down the path of sustainable use of technology. There’s nothing like a little trip away from the hustle and bustle of city life to a beach resort to give you a little prod in the right direction. That coupled with some handy tips that we’ve listed below, just might turn your life around and introduce you to a healthier consumption of technology.

Stop waking up with your phone
Before you go to bed at night, leave your phone on a table away from you. Invest in an alarm clock to cut down on any excuse you might have to go to bed with your phone. Once you wake up, resist the urge to dash out and check your notifications. Give yourself atleast an hour before you check your phone. If an hour is too much, start with 30 minutes.

Turn off notifications
You’d be surprised at how little you’d end up checking your phone if it wasn’t pinging every five seconds.

Leave your phone behind
The next time you hang out with your friends, leave your phone behind. Nothing can motivate people to converse like the lack of a phone screen.

Monitor your phone usage
As ironic as it sounds, we now have new technology to curtail the use of technology. Download apps like Moment or Mute that help you track your daily phone usage and you’re well set to start a digita.

Need an all around mind, body and soul detox? Check out some of our stay options at Seashells!