Recharge Revelation: Embracing “Shutoff Sundays”

Recharge Revelation: Embracing “Shutoff Sundays”

What’s one thing a Baby Boomer media mogul and a Millennial pop star can agree on? Unplugging to recharge.

Recently, Katy Perry sat down with Thrive Global founder and CEO (and publishing titan) Arianna Huffington for the fifth episode of the Thrive’s Global Podcast. Their special, live broadcast actually uncovered many things the two women have in common, including a fondness for sleep, meditation, letting go of grudges and taking timeouts from technology. The latter item also gave rise to a new term: “Shutoff Sundays”, coined in the course of their conversation. Thrive Global writer Kelsey Murray explains idea behind the movement as “the need to grant ourselves permission for something like recharging; a day to unplug, recharge and take a break from your devices.”

According to the Harvard Business Review, Huffington and Perry are definitely on to something. They cite research that the average person turns on their phone 150 times daily. If it takes two minutes each time to update your status, check a text, or listen to a voicemail, that adds up to a whopping 5 hours every day!

The good news is there are things you can do to take back control – even if you don’t have the willpower to stop pulling out your phone every time it dings or vibrates. And once you’ve got that time back, you can use it for things that are truly restful.

Top Takeaways from Arianna, Katy, and those Harvard guys:

  • There’s an app for that
    Make technology work for you, instead of you working for it. Apps like Offline and Unplugged can schedule “airplane mode” blocks of time so that you can recharge throughout the day. It’s the perfect solution for those who just can’t power down on their own.
  • Connect with your inner caveman
    Both Huffington and Perry agree – we are so busy connecting with everyone else we often fail to stay in touch with ourselves. Says Huffington, “You have to refuel yourself. We forget sometimes to connect with ourselves.” Perry notes that “I’m giving out a lot and I’m able to connect with others but it’ll be a time where I’ll just need to go back into my little cave and just connect with myself, so that I can be there and be the best version of myself.”
  • Meditation matters
    This is one of Perry’s go-to strategies. But it requires a commitment; meditation is easier and becomes more beneficial the more often you do it.
  • Embrace JOMO
    The social media boom gave birth to a new form of social anxiety, “FOMO”, or Fear of Missing Out. Huffington suggests re-framing your thinking; by valuing your downtime, you can turn FOMO into “JOMO” – the Joy of Missing Out.
  • Recover Inside Out
    For the best brain-body breaks, Harvard Business Review’s Shawn Anchor and Michelle Gielan recommend combining internal and external breaks. For example, internal breaks at work might include moving on to another task, or shifting your attention by chatting with a colleague about weekend plans. External breaks from work are what you do outside the workplace. Beware, though – getting riled up about political posts on Facebook or worrying about your child’s college plans do not count as a break, even if you are lying down.

For more about rest, recharging and resilience, check out the Stout archives for helpful advice, inspiring insights and Stout takeaways to fuel your journey. Enjoy!

 

Click the play button below to listen to the full Perry-Huffington podcast