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Key idea 1

Our cultures have observed rest days for thousands of years.

Rest days are a well-established tradition. Thousands of years ago, the Hebrew people began to revere a day of rest that they called Shabbat, or the Sabbath. One of the Ten Commandments essentially chiseled the day into stone by establishing a set, unchanging day off from labor every week.

Later, the practice was adopted by other civilizations as well. For instance, Christians chose Sunday as their day of rest while Muslims observed Friday. Additionally, not just religious organizations recognized the advantages of taking a day off. Unions and other apolitical organizations emphasized the value of vacation days during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.’mphasized

Two days of rest gave people more time for family time, education, church, meditation, and creativity. The weekend didn’t come into existence until almost the beginning of the twentieth century.

The times, sadly, are a-changing. These days, weekends off are uncommon. For instance, a surprising 63% of US employees say that their employers need them to work the majority of weekends.

We’re not just losing our weekends, either. Digital advances quickly changed how we perceive and handle time. Our days now have a new structure as a result. Take a simple concept like the availability of news. To keep up with the news, we might read the newspaper once or twice a day, in the morning and the evening. Today, however, television and smartphone apps constantly transmit news updates to us. Additionally, we now regularly find ourselves replying to emails and texts in bed rather than reading a book as we formerly would have.

Didn’t all of this technology promise to reduce how much time we all have to spend working? But we’re always operating and linked. And this isn’t good for either our health or our careers. It certainly doesn’t benefit the companies we work for. According to study, those who work 60 hours a week are less productive than those who work 40 hours a week and are more likely to die from heart disease.

Without a doubt, it’s time to begin restoring control over your time. In the crucial ideas that follow, you’ll understand why you must relax and sleep as well as what you must do to establish your Tech-Shabbat customs.’’

Key idea 2

Rest and sleep are essential for your well-being.

You might not have enough time to take a weekly tech break. However, giving up your screens for a day can make the following six days more productive and focused. The author, Tiffany Shlain, realized this when she started her film company and the Webby Awards. She began shutting off her screens on Friday and Saturday nights, and her workers soon followed suit. Productivity increased as a result, benefiting the entire business.

One reason for this was that they slept more soundly. When you have leisure, you sleep better, and getting eight hours a night increases your output. The benefits, though, go beyond the workplace. While you are sleeping, certain really important processes take place.

Synaptic homeostasis produces waste products that, because they accumulate over the day, might be harmful to your health. Your cerebrospinal fluid flushes these wastes away. Your synapses also return to their former size after growing larger while your brain was working.

Then, as you nod off to sleep, during REM sleep, a period of sleep characterized by rapid eye movement and vivid dreams, your brain sorts through the information from the day, “files” it, and creates new connections. Additionally, it explains why problems occasionally get addressed after you’ve gone to bed. Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Salvador Dal all recognized the creative power of sleep and devised techniques for waking themselves up to fully utilize this potential. For example, Einstein once woke up from a nap because he was carrying a key. He asserted that was when he had his most brilliant ideas.

Insufficient sleep has far more negative impacts than just being tired. In your bedroom, blue light from screens can have significant consequences, according to a research by psychologist Dr. Larry Rosen. The beta-amyloid plaque that this light can create in the brain is linked to Alzheimer’s disease and can result in insomnia.

Screen time and our urge to sleep are at odds with one another. When asked who the company’s largest rival was, CEO Reed Hastings responded that sleep, not HBO or Amazon, was the company’s biggest rival. So bear that in mind while you watch the latest binge-worthy Netflix series’ hundredth episode.’’

A full day away from screens, according to the author, is like a “system update” that will ultimately boost creativity and productivity. The following crucial idea is what we’ll specifically look at in order to do that.

Key idea 3

It takes some planning to have a good Tech Shabbat.

If you’re serious about your Tech Shabbat, you’ll need specific equipment. But don’t worry, the list is not too long.

You might need to call someone or they might need to call you first. However, since you won’t be using your smartphone, you’ll need a landline. Check to see whether one is offered for free with your internet, and if not, buy one. And if you want to be able to check the time, you’ll need to take out that analogue watch you’ve got hidden in a drawer.

A printer is also required. Print up the schedule for the day, necessary guides and information, and important phone numbers the night before your Tech Shabbat.

If you want to listen to music, get yourself a boom box or record player that doesn’t have a screen.

The last two things you’ll need are a sizable pad of paper and black Sharpie markers. These are essential for keeping track of your thoughts and ideas throughout the day so you can add them to your list of things to do.

But what if you took pictures of the moments you wanted to remember? You should consider simply taking in the moment. But if you find that you have to take photos, use a camera, even a digital one. If you have no other choice, put your phone in airplane mode before taking the picture, and then be tough with yourself: After taking the picture, set the phone away without editing or sharing it.

Choosing the day for your Tech Shabbat is the next step. Most people find that the weekend works best, so pick a day that works for you. On the chosen day, stay the full 24 hours. If anything comes up, you may easily do a shortened version one week or change the day. There will always be situations in which it is completely impractical. You’ll resume your normal course the following week, so don’t worry.

Once you’ve decided on the day, make sure to let your loved ones know—either in person or on social media. You should also inform your boss and your coworkers if they make an attempt to contact you.’’’

But after making a plan for the day, what should you do? Take use of it, then! Why not host family and friends for dinner? It’s always enjoyable to eat a meal with others. You might even approach a few interesting new people that you respect and think can teach you anything.

Key idea 4

Don’t let your screens divert your attention whether you’re paying attention or daydreaming.

If you were a daydreamer in class, like the author, you most likely faced punishment more than once. Daydreaming, however, is a productive use of time. After all, it gives you the ability to create scenarios and take into account the present, past, and future.

What happens then when you lose focus? Your brain’s default mode network, which can use up to 80% of it, then starts to work. Your brain starts building new connections as a result, which increases your intelligence and creativity.

Most people used to nod off far more frequently. While waiting for a bus, riding the subway, or visiting a doctor, they would just let their minds roam. Nowadays, your attention is immediately preoccupied when you pick up your smartphone. Instead of creating your own links, you choose to follow others’, which causes one click to lead to more. Instead of having a creative breakthrough, you’ll probably be enticed to make an online purchase.

It goes without saying that when you read a book or watch a movie, you’re also allowing your thoughts to be directed, and that can be bad sometimes. It develops empathy because it enables you to view the world from the viewpoint of another person. It is rarely the case while you are online, aimlessly perusing. There, you’re frequently less interested in great tales and more interested in business goals, political ambitions, and sometimes even websites with ulterior motives.

When you have tasks to complete, a certain brain region called the task-positive network becomes more active. This happens when you have work to do and have to concentrate on the present. Your screens, though, can draw your focus away from it in a similar way to how your network operates by default. Making a routine phone conversation, for example, would distract you just as it would if your brain were healthy.

What can we learn from this? Whether you’re in task-positive or default mode, put your phone in airplane mode, put it aside, and give yourself permission to be more creative and productive.

Key idea 5

We must reconsider how we use technology and get ready for the future.

Our reality has been altered by screens, and we are unable to escape the 24/7 work availability they have produced. Because of how quickly technology is advancing, it might often seem difficult to halt it. We need to reevaluate how technology affects us and our children.

Just consider the advertising sector. What changes do we want to see made there? Nowadays, there are advertisements everywhere, including pop-ups online as well as billboards and TV commercials. By 2006, Sao Paolo, Brazil, inhabitants had had enough. Since outdoor advertisements were made illegal, the community has been quieter and cleaner. Consider how restrictions like these on social media advertisements, for example, can impact your online experience.

Before making more important, helpful adjustments, we must first think about the world we want to live in. The steps we must take as a community and as individuals to get there will then be apparent to us. Going 24/6 is just one of many actions. You can think about and discover what you value most about yourself during a Tech Shabbat. You’ll quickly realize what you value most in society once you get there. After that, you might consider how you might support and advance those values.

Future technological advancements that are inconceivable to us now may be to be expected. When there are 11.2 billion digitally linked persons on Earth by 2100, life will be drastically changed. Just think about all the changes throughout the past century. We should envision the future we want to live in rather than focusing on the here and now.

What sort of world would that be, then? Rising automation need not lead to human obsolescence. Instead, the qualities that make us human will be appreciated more and more, especially our ability to understand context, which is a talent that artificial intelligence has difficulty with. Future-relevant skills like creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility, all of which are facilitated by working around the clock, are those that should be prioritized in today’s education.

The author believes that the most cutting-edge behaviors now involve being present, spending more time outside and away from devices, and thinking about what matters most. Why not plan for the future by setting aside time to unplug and spend more time with loved ones?

Final Overview

The main idea of this work is:

In the past few years, technology has increasingly dominated our life. For our health and well-being, we must limit our screen time and take a Tech Shabbat once a week, a 24-hour break from screens. Our effectiveness and productivity will increase, and we’ll have more time to use our imagination and build stronger relationships with others.

Practical suggestions:

Increase the amount of screen-free activities you like.

Make a list of the screen-free activities you enjoy doing and wish you could do more of. Cooking, hanging out with friends, listening to music, playing board games, learning a language, or simply sleeping in are a few of these activities. Increase the number of them in your weekly Tech Shabbat schedule.