We often think that network disconnection is impossible. That we need them to work, stay connected, not miss a thing. Especially when you work in the web and hosting sector. We convince ourselves that we need to check all notifications, be reachable on all channels, visible and available all the time.
But deep down, we know: it's not true.
It's perfectly possible to disconnect sufficiently to be at peace, while remaining professional and sufficiently contactable. It's not that complex or penalizing. While a total cut-off is certainly beyond the objective, it may prove necessary to reframe one's digital usage.
The benefits are immediate. From day one, you can recapture your attention, your "available brain time".
As the founder of LRob, web host specializing in WordPress, I thus tested the improbable: I decided to disconnect all social networks to refocus on the essentials.
I tested the experiment for a full month: zero LinkedIn, zero Messenger, (almost) zero YouTube, no scroll refuge. The results are astonishing. Here's what this digital detox taught me.
Contents
What is Digital Detox?
Visit digital detoxor digital detox (or "digital detox"), refers to a period when we voluntarily decide to cut ourselves off, totally or partially, from the digital tools that saturate our daily lives.
This sometimes totally includes shutting down the computer or smartphones. But often it involves social networks (LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.). This allows you to cut yourself off from sources of hyperconnection and over-solicitation :
- Permanent notifications
- Instant messaging and e-mail
- Passive news and video consumption
- Mobile games or addictive applications
The goal? Interrupt this constant flow of micro-stimulations that captures our attention, scatters our concentration and exhausts our nervous system.
Why a digital detox?
It's not just about productivity: it's about well-being and regaining control of your own choices.
In a daily life saturated with screens and distractions, digital detox offers a real breathing space.
It enables :
- To regain more stable attention.
- Reduce mental fatigue and chronic stress
- Regulate dopamine, the key neurotransmitter for motivation and pleasure
- To free up time for richer, deeper activities
- And above all, to take back control of your brain and your consumer choices.
In other words: digital detox means relearning to direct your attention where you choose, and not where the algorithms want to take you.
The dopamine economy: when our brains get sucked in
Fabien Olicard (mentalist) explains it very well in his interview on the Major Mouvement channel: our brain hasn't changed since prehistoric times, but the environment has transformed at the speed of light.
Every notification, every video that follows, every change of plan is a micro-shot of dopamine. And our brains crave more, like laboratory mice frantically pressing a lever for a little pleasure shot.
The problem isn't dopamine per se. It's that we get them too easily, without effort, and without any real purpose. The result: nothing stimulates us long enough. Reading a book? Too long. Listening to a friend talk without checking your phone? Complicated. Working in depth? A struggle.
This video might make you want to make a digital break and give you a few pointers on how to reclaim your brain.
3 practical tips from Fabien Olicard and Major Mouvement
In their exchange, they explain that our attention isn't broken - it's just misdirected. And there are simple, effective solutions for reprogramming it. Here are three that I've tried out myself:
1. Hold on for one more minute
Feel yourself stalling on a task? Resist 60 seconds. It's not much, but it's the start of strengthening. It's brain muscle.
2. A two-minute break, doing nothing
Watching two minutes go by on a stopwatch. Without thinking. Without touching anything. Two minutes of apparent boredom... that actually recharge your nervous system.
3. Exercise 5-4-3-2-1 (anchoring the senses)
Simple and effective, focus on :
- 5 things you see
- 4 sounds you hear
- 3 physical sensations
- 2 odors
- 1 taste
This brings your attention back into the present moment, away from parasitic stimuli.
And for children, it's even more critical
Fabien and Major Mouvement mention a point that stuck with me: children haven't even known the world before. They grow up with ultra-fast cartoons, with unreal colors and frenetic shot changes. An overdose of dopamine from an early age.
It's up to us, adults (and sometimes parents), to teach them to keep busy in a healthy way, to read, to look out the window, to create without screens. Not by forbidding, but by accompanying.
The experience of cutting everything for a month
This video and others triggered my desire to cut everything. A realization that was just waiting to take shape.
My starting point: well-sorted networks
Before starting this digital detox, I had already been sorting out my digital habits for a long time:
- No more Instagram or Facebook notifications.
- Snapchat ended years ago.
- No TikTok.
And for good reason: I was already using efficient, time-consuming channels on a daily basis: SMS, emails, support tickets, direct calls. But two other tools were still very much part of my digital habits:
- LinkedIn : For visibility and interesting pro exchanges... Open all the time, skip on every notification, as a red dot catches the eye.
- Facebook Messenger: still useful for quick exchanges with certain friends and family.
And then there's YouTube. Although it's not a social network, it was my biggest weakness. I'd leave videos running in the background, like a permanent radio, all day long. I couldn't cook or drive without listening to a video. A habit that I thought was harmless... but which tired me out, saturating my mind without me even realizing it.
The problem: a false sense of lack of time
I had this unpleasant feeling of always running out of time, of not being efficient enough, of being more tired than the norm, even though the time was actually there. But this digital background noise was fragmenting me without my realizing it.
I felt I needed real production days. No scrolling, no passive video in the background. What I was looking for: focus. Real focus. Hyper-focus. But also to find myself. Because by dint of occupying our minds too much, we forget ourselves, we connect virtually to others, while disconnecting from ourselves. That's why I had to find a balance.
The goals
I saw two main goals:
- 🧠 Regain control of my dopamine and my available brain time.
- 📈 Reinforce the good results already achieved for LRob.
I also wanted to see if :
- I could drive my web hosting business forward without social networking.
- I could create a healthier, more efficient routine.
What I wanted to achieve during this month
Pro side :
- Continue to welcome and serve customers → ✅ Successful
- Create a newsletter with high added value → ❌ Not done yet
- Preparing my affiliate program → ❌ Studied but not yet done (technical obstacles)
- Working with Valérie Oberfeld on SEO → ✅ Still going strong
- Writing for my sites → ✅ Partially done, articles are on the way
- Clarifying a few accounting points → ✅ Done
- Prospecting → ❌ Not done, I preferred to focus on SEO
Over and above the objectives: On the pro side, I was able to take the time to carry out heavy work thanks to the time I'd found again. I even took the time to install my own search engine. SearXNG.
Personal side:
- Read → ❌ Not done
- Seeing friends → ✅ Done, a lot
- Watch a few movies → ✅ Done (I've actually done all the Die Hard movies)
- Making music → ✅ Done copiously, alone and with a friend
- Sport 2 to 3 times a week → ✅ Partial, gentle recovery
The result of this month's cut
In the end, I worked less, but more efficiently, allowing me to enjoy my personal time more. Beneficial side-effect: having rediscovered the distinction between professional and personal time, I respected work schedules that didn't overlap with my rest time. I achieved most of my objectives. And personally, I saw my friends, pursued my hobbies, went out... I rested with almost a vacation feeling, while remaining productive. A small revolution, a small happiness.
How I felt during this digital detox
A true reconnection with the present
I found a denser form of reality. Everything felt truer, more intense.
Exchanges with friends were richer, moments more memorable. I found the latitude to do things I'd been procrastinating on for a long time that didn't feel urgent, like going to the garbage bin, dusting off my PC, sorting things out. And I found it very satisfying. From day one.
I've rediscovered boredom... which isn't boredom.
I experienced real moments without distraction: driving and cooking, showering without video background noise. Alone with myself. Time for real introspection. And it feels really good.
What I used to call "boredom" was in fact mental rest. These periods of emptiness enabled me to regain a calmer attention span. To reduce stress too. Letting go of the non-essentials to find time for what matters, even the simplest things.
A surprise: more impatient in real life
I thought I'd be more patient in real life, but the opposite happened. Maybe it's a compensation effect, or poorly channeled mental energy. I don't have enough hindsight to analyze it yet, but it's an interesting avenue to explore.
A controlled YouTube comeback
After two weeks, I returned to YouTube, but in a controlled manner:
- Never again in the background.
- When I watch a video, I really watch it, without doing anything else at the same time.
- From now on, YouTube becomes a choice, not an automatic background noise.
Proof: you can live without networks
During this month, I proved that one can do without social networks without isolating oneself.
I simply used other channels:
📱 SMS,
📧 Emails,
📞 Direct calls.
It works. In fact, it's often more efficient and more humane. Everything else generates far too much mental pollution.
What I will change permanently
Keeping this new, healthier relationship with my attention and my time.
I will balance and perpetuate this minimalist approach.
Reintegrate LinkedIn in small doses, to remain visible, but sharply limit reactive messages and usage.
Never let YouTube run in the background again.
Disconnecting from networks means reconnecting with yourself.
By dint of filling every moment, we forget ourselves. Our attention is absorbed by algorithms, our pleasure diluted by quick distractions. Digital detox isn't about rejecting digital tools: it's about refusing to let them take control of our lives.
Whether you work in the web or in any other sector, everyone should take back control of their attention. Over their choices. Over their time. Back to basics.
And if you have a website and/or personalized emails, one way to spend less time on your screens is also to choose a Reliable, secure, high-performance Web hosting at LRobwith why not a WordPress maintenance.
Comments are welcome if you'd like to share your experience.
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