We’re all guilty of it. Whether we use our smartphones as an alarm clock or not, we wake up in the morning and reach for our phones. Because we live in a digital age, it seems efficient and vital to immediately tackle the day with your fingertips. However, living your life in this fashion is probably not only inefficient to your productivity, but also detrimental to your well-being. Because we come from a profession so focused on time down to the very last second, we understand that phones and other mobile devices can help facilitate necessary communications with the sense of urgency that has become so important for keeping afloat, so to speak. What many people do not realize, however, is that the constant leash our phones have on us may be hindering our performance potential.

If you cannot remember the last time you turned off your phone (with the exception of being forced to by a flight attendant!), you may be in need of a digital detox. While the thought of this may seem daunting to most, you may find that taking the plunge and detoxing will allow your thoughts and communications with others to fully form without the intermittent pull from everyone in your contacts. This, in turn, will be beneficial for your relationships and your own mental well-being. It will give you a chance to dictate how you spend your time, as opposed to scrambling to respond to other people’s demands. As a result, when you’re at work, you can be focused on work without all of the interruptions.

Think really hard about the time when smartphones didn’t exist. It’s difficult, isn’t it? Yes, they are beneficial in several ways – but as you read this post, make an active decision to regain control of it. After all, a phone is still just a device. You are a living, breathing being – and there is only one of you in this lifetime.

Try a digital detox for a period of at least 24 hours. During this time, you should switch off all mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers). If you have some free time and you are tempted to surf the internet, try doing something active outside. Try focusing on the people you are with, rather than the little icons your phone is emitting. You just may surprise yourself and discover things that were seemingly “missing” from your life were really just masked behind a touchscreen. You may find that you sleep better, feel more energized, and are able to use your phone in a more productive manner without completely subjecting yourself to a daily mental hijack.

Good luck!