Recently, I posted a blog abut my apprehension on being on a boat for a week with no access to Wi Fi or cell service. I thought I would follow up with my experience.

I must, initially, confess that we had more access to cell service than I had anticipated. The first day on the water, I found myself periodically checking my phone, perhaps once an hour. On the second day, I found myself checking it a bit less. By the third day, I was only checking my phone once a day, first thing in the morning. By the third day I, also, found myself only responding to emails that truly constituted an emergency. And saving responses to nonemergency emails for when I returned to the office.

The more I unplugged, the more relaxed I became. I sat on deck and easily chatted, in a truly engaged manner, with the other guests on the boat without checking my phone. Or I read. I was so relaxed that I happily read several books during that week.

I also found that I fell asleep easier at night. I have often read-and now I can attest to this-that turning off the screens for a period before you go to bed helps you sleep better.  Since I have been home, I have tried to switch from scrolling through social media in bed, before I go to sleep, to reading books. Before I went on vacation, I often experienced problems falling asleep at night. Since I returned and switched my nighttime habit to reading only and no emails or social media, I have not yet experienced the same problems falling asleep.

I was happily surprised how good it felt to unplug. I would absolutely recommend doing so.