Last Tuesday, July 4th, I agreed to go totally "off the grid." No phone or computer at all...not even to check to see if there was an emergency. And I only told 4 people I was doing this.

It wasn't that hard but I must admit that I kept reaching for my phone in my back pocket quite a bit. At one point I even felt my butt buzz as if I was getting a call.

Unfortunately when I returned to my electronics the next morning, there were several people who were very worried. One was about ready to call the local hospital to see if I was there.

After taking care of the 1,024 emails I received plus all the texts and phone calls, I realized a simple truth.

It's hard to moderate your connection to the world. The programs and apps we use are designed to keep us wanting more and are addicting. If you didn't see it, 60 minutes did a piece on how programmers are hacking the brain to keep us bent over our phones, engaged with our devices and eventually capitalizing on this connection. See the episode here.

A recent 2016 study of smartphone use found that the average user has 76 phone sessions a day - We keep coming back to our phones for more little surges of dopamine.

I dare you to try it...take one day off. I guarantee you'll feel more relaxed by the end of the day :)