“Getting Away- 75 Everyday Practices for Finding Balance in Our Always-On World” was published in 2020 and written by Jon Staff, a founder of Getaway. This was one of the most fascinating, insightful books I read in 2022 and it was packed with resources from hiking, phone apps, volunteering, flowers, etc.!
Read more about Getaway here: https://getaway.house/about/
Photo credit: Getaway.house
This book presented 75 ideas for finding balance in our daily lives. How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Among my favorite suggestions: keep a gratitude journal, turn off push notifications and audit your phone usage, practice deep listening by not tending to your phone when having in-person conversations, wake up with a physical alarm clock, focus on one task at a time, observe a digital sabbath, listen to an album from start to finish, go on hikes, and add downtime to your calendar.
“Allowing an app to send you notifications is like allowing someone to insert a commercial into your life anytime they want.”
Jon Staff
Disable push notifications. Audit your phone usage by going to Settings (ScreenTime for iOS, Digital Wellbeing for Android). After reading this, I have regularly turned off most push notifications (Facebook, Messenger, Outlook, etc.) and it has been so freeing! I feel less stressed without these interruptions throughout the day and am more productive!
The average American spends 20 hours/week watching TV! This is the equivalent of a part-time job! Make a list of activities to do in your new free time instead.
Wake up to the radio as an alarm. Humans are conditioned to hear voices, not beeps. Also, listen to an AM/FM radio or an entire album sometimes. This creates an added level of discovery. You can’t control what plays and you are likely to hear something new. I know I’m guilty of switching songs every time I stream and don’t feel like listening to a song at a particular time and I think I will try this!
Several resources were also provided in this book:
Phone apps to control app usage: RescueTime, Self Control
Volunteer opportunities: Volunteer Match, Idealist
Hiking: All Trails, Hiking Project, Outdoor Project, Trail Link
Getaway outposts are located throughout the United States. Find out more here: https://getaway.house/our-outposts. I have stayed at a tiny Getaway cabin a couple times, and I highly recommend it. I have loved the convenience of nature and several hiking trails and state parks somewhat nearby. Hiking is one of my favorite activities to “get away.” Last year, we stayed at Getaway for my birthday and hiked at four state parks in four days!
Some of my favorite personal photos from my Getaway trips:
I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon!
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