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For those of you who work behind a computer: do you ever take a full day completely offline?

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I realized I probably couldn't stay away from the internet for an entire day. :D

Partly because I want to keep my Product Hunt streak, but also because:

  • I try to nurture my community and engage with them every day (essential for growing).

  • I handle customer support daily.

  • Missing important news from the tech world gives me FOMO.

To compensate, I spend time outdoors, go into nature, and stay active through sports. But I know that disconnecting from the internet for a full day would probably do wonders for my eyes, focus, posture, and overall well-being.

Are you able to go completely offline?

If so, for how long? And if you've managed to reduce your online time, I'd love to hear your tips. 😄

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My husband and I have a lovely tradition of taking Saturdays off - it's usually time we spend in nature, especially in summer. It's always an active day - we ride bikes, swim, or go hiking. It helps so much to refresh the brain!

 this sounds so beautiful and relaxing.

 This is a couple goal!

Yes, I've gone completely offline a few times! I actually stopped using my smartphone for a while to focus on what really matters. I'm trying to get back into that habit, but since today is our launch day, this is definitely a huge exception! :D

 Have you even slept? :D because when is the launch day, you probably shrink 168 working hours into 24 :D

It is hard specially because you have smart phone always on , I do go on yoga retreat once though and had complete digital seclusion for 6 days!!! Its always difficult to stay away first few days !

 Are those any public retreats like bootcamps that I can buy online? :D

oh yes for sure ! There are many try searching for vipasna retreats you would find a lot !!!

Completely offline is probably a no, but to greatly reduce time on a computer, probably, and it's healthy to do so at least once a week and spend that time in nature.

 How much time do you spend daily online? :D

more than I should… but I do have the ability to disengage mostly and go out to nature over the weekends :)
Honestly, I have the same struggle! It’s hard to stay offline for a day when you have a day job as well as side projects, typically using weekends. This year we’re trying something different as a family: a 24-hour device-free period on the weekends (we started two weeks ago, so still learning how to really do it). But I agree — as humans we need periods to recharge, detox from all the information we process all the time, and focus on human connection, both with others and with ourselves. It’s challenging to prioritize this in this day and age, but at the same time I think true rest boosts creativity and productivity when we’re back on — most of the best ideas I’ve had were during vacation. As I once heard someone say, creativity often doesn’t happen during working hours.

 How do you manage it with the whole family? Like for real? It is difficult to force kids not to use smartphones or tablets.

, We are still figuring this out, to be honest, but what I have also observed is that when I am off and engaging with the kids, they tend to reciprocate more. We are also trying to include out-of-home activities (bike rides, hikes, etc.), which helps (if we are just at home, it is more difficult). However, my kids are also younger, and we have not hit the teenage years yet (I am sure it would be more difficult with teenagers). But as I said, this is something we are still learning as a family, and I really appreciate all the helpful content shared on this thread!

I've done it a few things while on a long hike, on vacation in Bali and on the beach somewhere in SE Asia for 2-3 days, the initial 24 hours is the challenge. However, after 3 days, I'm full of fresh ideas and my notebook is filled with things I want to do ... the urge is strong to jump back into the online world and bring those ideas to life!

 I think that I would enjoy that but being with my community for some time per day is important to me :)

 I believe you should always pursue with brings you happiness and I love that for that being with your online community daily!! We should all be committed to following our bliss!

Sundays, no screen, minimal internet to message someone if needed.
Just exsisting!

 I also wish to "just be". But then I turn it into existential crisis and scenarios of what else should I do :D

 It's a spiral, honestly. You wish you could just be but then this needs your attention and that should be done. I now have time for this, lets do it... and it never ends :P

A full day, honestly no. I have a day job in data and build on the side, so the weekend is when the side work actually happens, which is the opposite of offline. What I have managed is smaller and it sticks better. No screen for the first hour of the day, and I separate input from rest. Scrolling feels like a break but it is still information coming in, so it does not count. A walk with no phone does. Once I stopped calling the scroll a rest, the real breaks got easier to protect. The full offline day is still the goal, I am just not there yet.

 I wish you could experience at least for 24 hours, it would be so much freedom :)

 You might be right. I will treat it like an experiment: one full day offline, then see how the following week feels for sleep and focus. If the data says you are right I will happily admit it here.

Coming from a hospitality background, I noticed something funny: a busy dinner service was the most "offline" I ever felt, even surrounded by total chaos. No phone, no Slack, just fully present with the people in front of me. Now in tech, replicating that is so much harder because the work never physically ends. What actually helps me is a hard rule: one weekend day where the phone lives in a drawer, not my pocket. Out of sight is the whole trick, because the second it's within reach the streak-and-FOMO brain kicks right back in!

 you are the one with more discipline. I am afraid that people here cannot give up a single day (in most cases) :D

 The dinner service point lands hard. I ran a care home and a cafe alongside a software company, and the busiest physical shifts were oddly the calmest thing in my head all week, no laptop, no dashboard, just the actual person in front of me. The drawer trick is smart, out of sight really is the whole game. Between the restaurant and the coffee brand you mentioned, curious which one still runs more on memory than on any actual system.

honestly not really, and I've noticed the streak-keeping habit specifically makes it worse, not better. even on a slow Sunday I end up doing a quick 5 minute check just to keep things ticking over, which kind of defeats the point of unplugging. the closest I get to offline is leaving my phone in another room during a walk, laptop is a different story though

 I am overusing my laptop. It is true that I spent 24 hours without being online 2 weeks ago when I went to a friend's house. But I had to check the Product Hunt at 10 am CET so I couldn't lose the streak :D

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