Digital Detox + Summer Guide

Welcome to our 12 Days of Digital Detox Challenge! Are you up for it? Sure you are. Click Read More to find out how you can join in and the ultimate guide to how to spend your summer PLUS we snuck in our favourite Homemade Lemonade Recipe!

I totally get it. When the summer holidays finally hit and the pressure of working your usual 9am - 5pm fades away for just a split second, it’s easy to pick up bad habits under the excuse of ‘I’m relaxing’! Especially once all the family arrives, it seems that if we’re not outside trying to keep the little ones busy, we’re tucked up on our phones. From a child’s perspective, I guess it must feel like they’re either getting endless photos taken of them doing goodness-knows-what (because everything they do is cute right?) or they’re being completely ignored. I don’t mean to be frank, but I’m going to be. This year, I’ve realised that I personally need a digital detox more than anyone! Having finished school, and finally launched Lively, I have the opportunity to minimise my time on my devices to only the bare necessities however I always seem to be filling in the time with something else to do on my devices. Perhaps it’s another you-tube video I feel as if I MUST catch up on, or that Netflix series I’ve been dying to watch all year but haven’t had the chance, or even browsing endlessly for a new dress of Christmas Day online. 
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As someone who struggles with chronic migraines too, I’m sure being on my devices all day long doesn’t exactly help either. So this year, I’m calling it quits. Well, kind of. Rather, I’m hosting a ‘Digital Detox’ 12 Days of Christmas Style and I’m really hoping you’ll join me too.

Let me clarify, first of all, I’m not asking you to lock away your devices (like you might often have to do to your teenager). Rather, this blog post and attached printable is simply a 12 day challenge to inspire you to get outside, get some fresh air and spend some quality time with the people you love this season. If you have all the family joining you this year, this is a lovely opportunity to get everyone on board. 

The challenge begins on the 20th of December and continues for the last 12 days of the year until the 31st of December - because I know you’ll all want to be filming and taking photos for the first moments of 2019! 

The rules of the challenge are this:

• You are limited to 30 minutes on your cell phone or laptop per day. A great way to track this is to activate the 'Screen Time' function on your iPhone. You are able to set time limits on your devices according to category of apps etc. as well as blocking websites, apps and features on your child's devices too (they'll hate me for telling you that though!)
• Yes, tv time is allowed because I understand that Christmas movies are a must however try to avoid any unnecessary time in front of the television that isn’t ‘family time’. This includes, not having the television on while cooking dinner or eating - sorry dad, I know you love the news but we love to chat with you more. 
• In the printable, each day there is a task which you are allocated. This isn’t like homework, no scary teacher will tell you off if you aren’t in the mood, but it is there to give you a little inspiration for how you can motivate yourself to put down the phone.

The FREE PRINTABLES are at the bottom of this blog post! You'll find your digital detox printable as well as a BONUS goal setting sheet. 

To inspire you to get outside, I’ve listed some of our favourite activities during this time of the year for you! These would be a perfect way to spend the afternoon, or get the kids out of the house. 

• Te Miro Mountain Bike Park: there is a whole range of trails perfect for the entire family
• Lake Karapiro: take the boat, the kayaks or a picnic and enjoy a day by the water
• Take a dip in the pool in Te Awamutu. There are free buses transporting people from Cambridge to Te Awamutu! More details are in the image below.
• Hit the beach, pack your sunscreen and your togs for a lovely day in the sunshine. Our favourites are Mount Manganui or Tairua. 
• Go fishing! Surprisingly fun, trust me. My boyfriend dragged me out the other weekend and I kind of enjoyed it (but don’t tell him!). 
• Have a picnic in your backyard (if you’re not in the mood to leave home).
• Pick strawberries at your local berry farm (plus the real fruit ice creams are delicious)!
• Watch your family’s favourite Christmas movies! There are some great ones on Netflix too.
• Go see a movie! The movie theatres are often lovely and cool as well. The Nutcracker is next on our list.
• Get the sprinkler out for a fun afternoon in the backyard - our dogs always love this one too.
• Have some time in the garden. Perhaps plant some herbs or flowers!
• Make lemonade! This is also delicious to pour into popsicle containers with some fresh berries to pop into the freezer for a delicious treat. 

This is our favourite Old Fashioned Homemade Lemonade Recipe:

You'll Need:
1 cup fresh lemon juice (this only took 3-4 lemons) TIP! Roll your lemons on your bench top prior to juicing to help get more juice out of them. 
6 cups cold water
3/4 cup - 1 cup sugar

​Method:
Simply combine the following ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Enjoy cold over ice for a refreshing drink.

Use a funnel to pour the remaining lemonade into a sealed container. Will store in the fridge for about a week (but trust us, it'll be consumed by the family before then because it's so damn good!)

The following blog posts may also be of interest to you during your detox:
- The Ultimate Guide to a Zero Waste Christmas
- 5 DF / GF Christmas Creations
- Welcome to Summer (here you'll find our summer goals, Christmas playlist and more!)
- 5 Essential Oils DIY's (perfect for last minute gifts and stocking fillers)
- DIY Scent Boosters
- DIY Rose Water / Rose Oil

Although this challenge may be difficult for some, you’ll understand that the benefits (better sleep, more socialisation, reduce headaches/eye strain) are fantastic and will totally make it worth it. Besides, you never know what fun you might have this Christmas, if you really go yourself involved rather than it being background noise to your hourly instagram scroll! 

If you have some time this weekend, here are my pre-challenge tips!

• clear out your emails
• delete any unwanted apps
• unfollow any people who do not bring joy to your social media feed
• unsubscribe from any emailing systems which do not serve you. Bonus tip, use Unroll Me (it’ll show you all the websites you are subscribed to and easily help you cancel your subscriptions!)
• clear your laptop desktop (as well as your downloads and trash bin)
• have a scroll through the photos on your phone and clear out any which do not have a purpose, especially before the millions of Christmas photos clog up your phone!

Let us know if you’re joining us in this challenge this year and let’s keep up the support for each other (obviously only during your allocated 30 minutes of screen time of course hehe)!

We look forward to digital detoxing with you!
From our home to yours,

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​Click here to Download your 'Digital Detox' Printable

​Click here to Download your 'Goal Setting' Printable