What I learned From every week Of Limiting My Tech Use

proper story: i love productiveness and life-improvement hacks. i like them so much that I’ve tried them all, from the Pomodoro technique to the Eisenhower means.

So, when The Muse recently revealed an editorial about fitness coach Craig Ballantyne’s 10-three-2-1-0 rule, I knew I had to give it a shot. And for science’s sake, I recorded my outcomes for you.

No, really. I lived via the rule for seven days, caught to it religiously, and ended up with some good conclusions that i think would possibly inspire you to check it out.

what’s the 10-3-2-1-0 Rule?

earlier than I dive into my test and what ended up happening, I should most definitely begin by explaining what these numbers are all about.

• 10 hours ahead of bed: no extra caffeine
• three hours ahead of mattress: no extra food or alcohol
• 2 hours sooner than mattress: no extra work
• 1 hour sooner than mattress: no more monitor time
• 0: the choice of occasions you hit the snooze button in the morning

mainly, the speculation here is to give your self a day-to-day activities that makes you extra productive by way of permitting you to fall sleep quick, keep asleep, and wake up feeling able to sort out your day. If this is accomplished “appropriately,” you shouldn’t feel the need to slam your hand on the snooze button or toss and switch all the way through the night time. Sounds wonderful, proper?

My Grand hypothesis

I’ll admit, I went into this one with somewhat anxiety—you already know, over the whole “not with the ability to do issues once I needed to” a part of it. I’m all the time a bit skeptical of productivity hacks that require you to position obstacles on the way you reside your existence. What if I acquired hungry proper before bed? What if an enormous work emergency got here up however I didn’t have my phone out? What if information broke and that i couldn’t watch it reside because no monitors? How would I survive?

I expected I wouldn’t. neatly, I mean, clearly I’d survive—but I wouldn’t survive in a single piece. Naturally, i thought I’d finish the week feeling exhausted from keeping up with the timing of everything and that it’d be unsustainable. Plus, would I in reality learn anything all that insightful about my work habits? I wasn’t definite.

the results

Twist: I if truth be told actually liked the 10-three-2-1-zero rule! apparently, the a part of the test i assumed would give me the most bother gave me the least. Plus, it introduced a couple of different considerations to light.

The anxiousness
For one, I in fact didn’t have that much anxiousness about stopping work two hours ahead of bed. I’m an enormous tv junkie, so getting fascinated about shows all through the day and powering down my laptop to turn on Survivor or The Voice was a enjoyable day by day ritual. And on different days, when my shows weren’t on, I frolicked with chums or read. the guideline jogged my memory that it’s necessary to treat yourself every single day, which is able to indubitably be a challenge for some folks (ahem me).

The dependancy
In distinction, what I didn’t firstly watch for being a problem is how really attached i am to screens. in fact, I imagine the word may be addicted. On the first night, I shut down my computer and vowed to learn a guide prior to bed to maintain up with the “no monitor time an hour prior to shut-eye” rule—but then I subconsciously picked up my phone almost instantly. I wasn’t even attempting to respond to emails or do any work; my fingers mindlessly went straight to Instagram, the place I scrolled with no purpose.

After coping with this two nights in a row, I made up our minds to cost it at an outlet across my bed room. yes, I skilled a bad case of phantom telephone palms for the next couple of nights, however after per week, I eventually began to get well. I’m even thinking of just shopping for an old-fashioned alarm clock so I don’t even need to keep my cellphone in my room because of this.

The Pointless Popcorn
finally, the other presumably life-changing statement i noticed is how so much I experience late-night snacking, even though I’m not that hungry. identical to my cellphone, I’d instantly snatch a bowl of popcorn or chips to chill out. neatly, it seems that I in point of fact am able to go to sleep sooner on an emptier stomach. Who knew?

overall, whereas I most likely gained’t practice the precise 10-three-2-1-zero rule to a T from here on out (whats up, stuff comes up), I no doubt need to avoid ingesting caffeine in the afternoon, eating late-night snacks after I’m not hungry, working proper up until lights out, and having my cellphone inside reach always.

These aren’t groundbreaking conclusions, however they are game changers for me, so I’d surely suggest you do this out. belief me, you’ll learn one thing.

this article at first appeared on The day-to-day Muse and is reprinted with permission.