A talk with Unplugged: why we all need to take a break
This week we spoke with the team behind Unplugged, a digital detox space not far from London.
Hi! So firstly could you introduce yourself and how you came up with the idea for Unplugged?
Hi! I’m Hector; I spent three years working for a tech startup in a range of roles before co-founding Unplugged at the end of 2019.
The idea came last September after a growing dissatisfaction with life led me to a silent retreat in the Himalayas after which I had a surge of motivation. I was having a drink with Ben, now my co-founder, when we decided that there must be a way to help people recharge without them flying halfway around the world. I quit my job a week later.
Why do you feel it’s so important for us to take a break?
Fundamentally we’re not built for life in the 21st century.
In the last 10,000 years or so we’ve undergone mind-boggling changes as a society and our biology simply hasn’t had the chance to keep up.
We’re built to live in tribes of up to 150 people and deal with little outside of that, yet today we find ourselves with access to billions of people worldwide, living in an ever more complex environment (highly recommend Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari for more on this).
On top of this, we’re living in a state of near-constant stimulation.
Roughly 85% of us check our phones within 15 minutes of waking up and barely come off it for the next 16 hours. We’re getting information fired at us from every direction.
Taking a break gives us a chance to “destimulate”, and so reconnect with ourselves.
What can you tell people who feel like they can’t take a break (especially from their phones)?
I’d say don’t beat yourself up!
It’s a process.
We as individuals are competing with the social media giants and the billions they spend to keep us engaged. Of course, it’s not easy.
The way I see it, it’s about developing our own self-awareness. The more we become aware of the addictive nature of our devices, the more the habit repels us.
I’ve spent the last year researching the benefits of time away from my phone and I still find it as addictive as ever!
What I have managed to do is create pockets of space in my life and generally design systems so I have less excuse to be on my phone. (Buying an alarm clock for example! It’s incredibly helpful in keeping the phone out of the bedroom) This in turn has allowed me to regain control of my time and attention.
These things take time. The key is changing our perception.
Living in busy cities, what are the benefits of being outdoors?
From an evolutionary perspective, we’re built to be outside and in nature. There’s something incredibly meditative and healing about reintroducing nature into our lives.
Another huge benefit is that it gets us moving.
Whether it’s walking or more intense exercise, our bodies are built to move. Anything is better than the 8 hours a day we’re spending glued to a screen.
Walking more is just about the simplest “life improvement” tool there is. At the start of lockdown, I budgeted no time for walking; as a result, I felt low and unproductive. My energy levels and mood immediately bounced back once I realised what the problem was and set aside walking time each day. Hugely underrated!
Many people decide to go abroad for a break, how did you decide on the location (only an hour away from London)?
We want to make Unplugged as accessible as possible.
There are endless options for unplugging in stunning locations all over the world. However, these aren’t always accessible to people; not only in terms of the time and cost commitment but also in figuring out how best to approach unplugging.
What we’re trying to do now is to create that experience as close to home as possible. Our guests can be totally immersed in nature and enjoy all the benefits that come with it, without the hassle of planning a big excursion. We’ll handle all the details.
This is probably your most asked question, but for those who might feel anxious about this, what do you do for 3 days without a phone?! Can you tell us a little more about this ‘slow living’ mindset?
It’s a great question! We do get a lot of “pre-game” nerves from our guests.
Giving people time away from their phones allows their mind to settle down and return to their default state.
We’ve found it takes about a day.
For that first day, people are usually a bit agitated and anxious; we’re so dependent on our phones that it feels unnatural at first.
After that first day, when the mind settles, people become present and start to find joy in the little things.
We’ve had guests delighted by the challenge of using the map to get around, or simply staring out of the window for hours on end! Perhaps the nicest revelation, which we hear time and time again, is it gives couples the chance to simply talk and be truly present with each other. That’s increasingly rare in our “always-on” lives.
What are your thoughts on wellbeing in the workplace? Do you feel things have changed in the past few years?
I actually think it starts with the role itself. You can send your team on trips (our cabins for example!) and give them perks all you like but fundamentally it comes down to whether people feel like their work matters and whether they feel valued as part of the team.
I’m a big fan of a more decentralized way of working and empowering people to take ownership of their work.
I do feel this is part of a larger societal change; no doubt accelerated by Covid. Over the last few decades, with the growth of the humanist movement, there’s been an ever-increasing discourse around the purpose of life. That’s only going to become more prominent in the near future as we tackle some big questions on AI and the future of humanity!
What’s your vision around wellbeing/slow living/mindful living in the next 5 years and how do you think it will adapt to our work environment?
Our goal with Unplugged is to help change people’s perspective on what is necessary for a happy and fulfilled life. We’ve grown up in the culture of bigger, better and more, and the truth is that none of that leads to happiness.
We all have the ingredients to a happy life inside us already and the goal is simply to find them. Counterintuitively, it’s not about what we can add to get there, it’s what we can take away. Do we need to be so busy all the time? I don’t think so.
I believe that success is becoming content with what we have. There’s a great story about Joseph Heller, the author of Catch 22. He was at the party of a billionaire friend of his and someone asked him (paraphrasing) How does it feel that our host made, only yesterday, more money than you did from your entire novel? To which Heller replied I have something that he will never have, enough.
Smart guy.
It’s by simplifying and stripping back the noise that we can truly take charge of our lives and start living on our own terms. The best thing? We can start today.
Follow Unplugged on Instagram 👉 @unplugged.rest and visit their website for more information 👉 unplugged.rest .
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