The Signs of Internet Burnout: Why YOU Might Need a Break

You’ve been going on the computer every day for who knows how long. Your eyes are starting to twitch. Your mind feels strange, and every time you get off your desk, you see nothing but imaginary browser tabs. News feeds. A list of emails that need processing.

Part of you wants to get away from all of it.

But you want to stay connected; going on the computer every day has over the years, become your new standard. In fact, without that daily technological power-up, you’d feel lost. How would you spend those extra hours? In your mind, taking a break is only going to make you fall behind.

Yet, you’re beginning to realise you need a break – badly. Is there a way out of this trap of wanting to take a pause and wanting to feel “connected” at the same time?

Face it: You’ve Become Too Dependent on Your PC

Some of the most memorable days were when you didn’t sit in front of a screen for the better part of the day. Maybe you just need to find ways to have fun without being in front of the PC. Or perhaps you’re of the mind that you can’t do any work without one.

When it comes to getting things done – nothing seems to beat a computer. We can write documents, research a project, read important emails, and so much more. They have become so important to the way we work, that we no longer see them as marvels of engineering – but integral parts of our life.

That’s okay.

But we owe it to ourselves to be reminded that we weren’t born to be seated in front of a screen for the better part of our lives. Besides, we can be just as productive, if not more so -if we take a more systemized approach to the way we use our computers.

The Damaging Effects of Being on the Computer For too Long

Time spent on the PC after work hours and on the weekend could be spent relaxing, celebrating, discovering, and being grateful. Besides, many of us can’t help but sit in prolonged improper positions that can damage our health.

It’s not so much that PCs only affect our posture, it’s that they can quickly suck up our time like nothing else. Ever told yourself you’ll be spending a bit of time on the computer, before realizing three hours have just flown?

We’ve all been there; there’s something about the internet that’s just highly seductive.

But in that time, we could have easily gotten our household chores done, caught up with a friend of ours, taken a stroll to the park – all without being connected. The internet offers us an infinite richness of information, but life outside the screen provides us with something far richer.

Avoid Internet Burnout by Taking One-day Off the PC Per Week

We don’t always need to be glued to a display to make headway on our personal development and work. We can, for instance, go to conferences and read books, connecting the dots in a way we wouldn’t be able to in the distraction-filled world of the internet.

The pen and paper approach is an excellent way to think creatively about our careers or businesses. Many of our hours spent in front of the computer are spent researching ideas, buried deep within the sandbox of Google.

But what if the best ideas were already inside us. And what if we only needed to unplug every once in a while, so that we could “plug-in” and access the kind of insights that would take our lives forward, while giving us a very much needed break from the screen.

So let’s have a day where we cut our ties with our PC and Tablets and don’t even turn them on. Since our smartphones have become so indispensable to us, as a compromise, we can choose to use them sparingly on this day.

Taking this kind of weekly break will allow us to go back on the computer in the week ahead with a new sense of energy that’s only going to help us work better. This might feel strange at first, but as time goes by, we’ll start to notice how much better we feel.

Schedule your Off Day on Saturday or Sunday

When you look back on your holidays, there’s a reason why you had so much relief and relaxation. Yes, you were in a new environment, and you had fun experiences. But you also stopped being seated in front of a screen daily, for weeks on end, meaning you avoided internet burnout.

Maybe that in itself was responsible for a small part of your increased level of happiness?

So, let’s pick the most suitable day for us on a weekend, and put our computers aside just for that one day each week, so that we can focus on everything else that matters.

About the Author: Samy Felice is a writer who is passionate about unique ideas related to living meaningfully through positive habit change. His free guide explores ways people can craft their work week to maximize daily happiness and productivity.

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