Overdoing it during the holidays is easy: There’s food galore, drinks you adore and parties that leave you sore.
But three media power players vowed not to go overboard in one area of their lives: technology. Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of Huffington Post Media Group, Cindi Leive, editor-in-chief of Glamour and Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” teamed up to unplug from their prized phones and slick laptops from Dec. 23 through Dec. 29 (a whole week!).
That meant no checking their e-mails every nanosecond or forging hourly tweets, and skipping their favorite TV shows, online games and social media sites in favor of more time with family and living in the moment.
As with breaking any addiction, these dynamos found it difficult to stay off devices — and they had slip-ups — but ultimately they felt richer for their experience. Here are their stories, as told to Kathleen Lucadamo:
Arianna Huffington
My youngest daughter, Isabella, made me lock my four BlackBerrys in a safe, to stop me from constantly checking my phone. The first day of the detox was the hardest, and I reached for my phone too many times to count, but it got easier each day. Instead of texting and
e-mailing, I read two books and print newspapers, and worked on the finishing touches of my book, “Thrive,” about a new way of defining success I call the Third Metric. I don’t remember the last time I read and wrote uninterrupted.
We were in Hawaii, and the office was closed for two days — which made it easier to unplug — but I allowed myself an hour a day to check in when the office was open. Boy, was it hard not wandering onto various Web sites once the computer was on — but I knew one hour would quickly morph into six if I didn’t control myself. At one point, Isabella, 22, came to talk to me during my online allowance, so I gave myself a few minutes more to make sure I got in my full time. Since my time was so restricted, I didn’t answer every e-mail. That was wonderful. I had my out-of-office response plugged in, so no one was offended.
I had pre-programmed inspirational sayings into my Twitter account, but when followers read the feeds, they were upset because they thought I’d broken my device-free pledge — so I had them stopped.
It was also tough being in this breathtaking place and seeing incredible waves and sunsets, and not being able to share them on Instagram. But instead, I soaked in the beauty. The waves reminded me of the ones I swam in growing up in Greece.
Staying physically active was key to staying away from my devices. I took long walks with my daughters and did yoga. Normally, I’d keep my phone nearby, even in yoga class, and sneak peeks at the screen when we switched poses.
When I got home, I still had a few days left of my detox. I’d been weaned a bit but still couldn’t be in the same room as a device. When the phones went back on, I was greeted by lots of encouraging e-mails. I’d definitely like to do this again, maybe once a year. In the meantime, I’m going to try and carve out more tech-free time — starting with yoga class.
Cindi Leive
I loved being unplugged and was mortified that I don’t do it more often. It seems like the bare minimum I can do for my family. I definitely kept reaching for the phone. It’s become a phantom limb, like a third arm, and I felt discombobulated. But I just left it at home and went about my business, and a new normal set in. I noticed how much everyone is on their phone. I went to midnight mass in Washington, DC, and men, women, children and grandmothers were all on devices.
By the second day, I stopped reaching for my phone. But I did allow myself 15 minutes of phone check-in time at the end of the day, when the office was open. My main motivation was my kids. My 11-year-old daughter worships at the temple of Instagram, and I’m constantly on her to get off the phone.
After Christmas, we boarded a plane for St. Lucia. When it was rerouted to Barbados due to a storm, I was desperate to check Twitter for updates on the damage. Fortunately, my husband was on his iPad and filled me in, which I know is cheating.
Once we were settled, I used my extra non-device time to read, sleep and adopt a more Zen attitude. We’d play trivia games at the dinner table, and it was so hard not to Google the answer. Instead, I got it wrong. My biggest temptations came when I was online to check my e-mail and had to fight off getting sucked onto other sites. I love my phone — I’m not going to swear off technology — but I’d 100 percent do it again.
Mika Brzezinski
I slipped up from the beginning. I had planned a vacation to St. Lucia for 13 family members, so I had to keep my phone handy — though silenced and used rarely — to coordinate flights and the hotel. When it was on, I found excuses to stay on. Still, not checking it constantly made a difference. On a drive from New York to Washington, DC, with my kids, we talked and sang songs without the ping of texts in the background — but it was hard not to pull over and check my texts. I had to slap myself a few times.
But it went from feeling really hard to being really liberating. By the fourth day, I couldn’t find my phone, and I didn’t panic. On the fifth day, I watched the sun set in St. Lucia. I don’t remember the last time that happened. The last few days were the most successful and most enriching. I felt the raindrops when I went for a walk with my daughter instead of worrying about keeping my iPhone dry. I met people on the island when I went for jogs, and fed a stray cat.
The day after I turned it back on, I woke up to an uncharged phone because I received so many congratulatory e-mails. I couldn’t even find a wire to recharge it. But I thought, “No wire, no phone, no problem.” For first time in a decade, I’m a bit rejuvenated. I need to do this a lot more. Next time, I won’t be the vacation coordinator, so I’ll really be unplugged.