This post first appeared on Piping Rock. Alll content is theirs.

We are constantly in this battle between technology and real life. Even when we’re with our friends or loved ones, our bodies are physically there, but our minds seldom are. We’re so hardwired to check our social feeds, upload a picture, answer a text or scroll through email, that it honestly feels like a balancing act between phone and people. Can you remember the last time you went somewhere…phoneless? We say, enough is enough. It’s time to make IRL, not just an acronym, but a way of living again. This guide to unplugging provides quick pointers to get you lose from the grip of technological addiction and into the freedom of being present.

Get A Traditional Alarm Clock

The 1980’s are calling and you should answer. Go out and buy yourself a digital or analog alarm clock today. Why, you wonder? In doing so, you’ll be able to get yourself away from your phone for a minimum of 10 hours a day. Here’s how:

• When you decide to call it bedtime, turn your phone off 2 hours before. Place it in another room.
• Having a physical alarm clock makes the need for your phone’s alarm clock unnecessary.
• Sleep without getting caught in an influx of text or email catchups.

Make A Social Media Time Bank For Yourself

If you’re anything like us, you find yourself opening your Instagram app and aimlessly scrolling through it, most likely passing the same image…every time. Change this mindless habit and start giving yourself a social media time bank. This is essentially an allowance you can distribute to yourself daily for how much time you can connect online. Whether it be 1 hour a day or 3, once the time is up, you should delete the app and re-download the following day.

Be More Aware

Have you ever been talking to someone only to catch yourself look down at your phone while they're mid-story because it lit up with a notification? We sure have experienced that. This is the equivalent to interrupting someone mid-sentence, and that's frowned upon. So one of the best ways to make yourself more likely to be present, and less connected to the online world, is through awareness. When someone is speaking, put your phone away to fully listen. After all, how does it make you feel when you're venting or asking advice and your friend is on social media? 

Bedtime Blend:

Complement your anti-technology sleep time with the following blend. Perfect to use in your diffuser nightly to unwind with its aroma.

+ 2 Drops Chamomile 100% Pure Essential Oil

+ 3 Drops Lavender 100% Pure Essential Oil

+ 2 Drops Ylang Ylang I, II, III 100% Pure Essential Oil

While these are just three small ways to help improve being present and less reliant, share with us ways you unplug below!