This Tech-Free Checklist Will Nourish Your Soul (And Your Eyeballs)

If you’re feeling a little out of whack, here are some tech-free activities that can help you rest, get well, recharge, and find your center:

I have always been a doodler and took a lot of heat for wasting both time and paper. I just didn’t realize how important it was to my focus, memory, and psyche until I began to read the research. Sunni Brown’s Ted Talk makes a case that doodling improves our comprehension and creative thinking, and the Wall Street Journal says it helps our brain process information, improving memory and focus. I use doodling as a way to get thoughts and ideas to come to the surface, to hash out ideas, to dream and plan…all without a Wi-Fi connection.

Reading on paper versus plasma isn’t the same thing, according to neuroscience. Aside from the fact that reading a paper book will cause you less eye strain and won’t compel you to multitask (because DING! An Important Email just arrived!), recent studies shows that our brains are more likely to retain information and comprehend more clearly when we read on paper, which makes sense, since we’ve all become "skimmers" of online content (I was an English literature major, and now I skip over anything that looks like it’s more than a five-minute read).

When it comes to breakfast and dinner, the bookend meals of the day, I usually take the time to eat something healthy and at home, with my family. The middle meal, however, is a hot mess: I am usually eating lunch in my lap, at my desk, while driving a vehicle, or in a restaurant that will feed me in 15 minutes or less (I believe they call that fast food, even if it’s organic and GMO-free). Taking the time to (a) prepare a meal at home, and (b) eat it slowly while sitting still, can do wonders for your mental and physical state. Being present with the food that you’re making and eating can help you calm your mind and be more mindful, which can help you recalibrate before your workday resumes, and the simple act of chewing your food (instead of wolfing it down) can help you digest your food better, absorb more nutrients, and even help you eat less. I’m sold.

There are some days when it feels like work just to run the bath and wait for it to fill (my bed is calling). But I’ve made this part of my nonnegotiable bedtime routine for good reason: In addition to literally and symbolically "washing off the day," I can add a scoop or two of Epsom salts, along with some calming aromatherapy like lavender or bergamot, both of which can help me calm down, unwind, and improve my sleep. I usually use a bath as a line in the sand: After my toes hit the water, it’s no more tech for the rest of the night.

When my schedule is frantic, and my phone is a flurry of dings, rings, and buzzes, there’s nothing that seems more decadent than doing a full-body dry brush. But the truth is, it only takes a few minutes, and it’s a nice way to pamper yourself (even if it’s a bit scratchy). Dry brushing boosts circulation, stimulates your lymph nodes, and gets rid of all those dead skin cells that, quite frankly, you don’t need to be carrying around. Add some body oil afterward, and you can skip the spa, all in the time you’d otherwise spend checking your social feeds.

Exposure to natural light during the day affects your biological clock1, so being outdoors will help you feel more alert (especially if it’s cold out!) and then help you go to bed more easily at the end of the day. That vitamin D is great for your immune system and your mood and stress levels too.

Want more tech-free ideas? Here's your checklist for the ultimate mental health day, plus what happened when this Instagram influencer went on a social media hiatus.