No Internet (Almost) - 30 Day Challenge

This is "Almost No Internet" challenge, because I absolutely needed following things:

• Google work stuff - can't deliver code without stackoverflow.
• Blogging - duh!
• Book a cab
• Pay money - paytm, phonepe, google pay: I needed them all.
• Truecaller - I don't respond to unknown calls, but if someone called me twice, I checked that number on truecaller to know if it's someone I know.

30 Day No Internet Challenge

Why should you take this challenge?

• To be at peace and not get frustrated my a zillion notifications.
• To get those tiny slots of time that was gone in passive browsing - which when bundled together take up a major chunk of time.
• To just stay put and let thoughts flow, instead of being distracted or trying intentionally to be distracted when waiting. You will realize that you are "thinking" as there's nothing to grab your attention all the time.
• If you are someone who relies on internet for news, then you may feel that you are disconnected from the world, but soon you realize that apart from some major events, nothing really happens and news streaming is useless. News about major events will reach you anyway in some form.
• To not get lost in those auto play videos on facebook or hot/trending videos of youtube.
• To do something productive. As I couldn't open anything on my laptop, I actually worked - you can't just stare at code and not do anything for long time. And on my mobile, as I had no other fun app, I read a lot on my phone too.
• You may find it difficult to shop from a store instead of online, but I realzed that I wasted more time online comparing prices or adding/removing items based on delivery charges.
• To detoxify.
• To avoid 5 minute browsing blown up into a 4 hour browsing.
• To actually talk to people at home and work.

What I missed:

• Music - I can't put it in words how much I missed music. I went crazy with the limited songs available on my phone.
• Google - I realized how much I google anything and everything. I missed this especially when I have to cook and have no idea about recipe.
• 9gag - Whenever I feel low, I browse through memes and at least one of them used to make me laugh.
• Reddit, Quora, Medium were sources of new interesting stuff.
• Pinterest - Missed mindless fashion and DIY browsing in the initial days.
• Youtube, News - rarely

What I didn't miss:

• Facetime
• Facebook
• Whatsapp
• Twitter
• Google Assistant
• Shopping apps
• Blogging related apps

Tips

• Write down things you want to do(with internet) in a note and let it be. I have a note with a long list of things I wanted to google, but couldn't.
• Delete all apps that have no utility, so that you won't be tempted to open them.
• Use mobile data instead of WiFi,so that you can provide data access only to apps which you need and when you need. For example, Uber can be provided data access only when you need to book a cab.
• If you must absolutely check your personal mail as things may be dependent on you, check them once in a day and be done with it.
• Log out or even block off all non-utlity sites on laptop.
• People are going to ask you why you aren't replying to their messages on Whatsapp, messenger etc, don't give in to peer pressure. They will soon get used to it and drop you a SMS when absolutely necessary. Sure, I had to call people like an old schooler, but it's all worth the peace you get.
• Switching off internet won't magically make you productive. You will find new ways of finding entertainment and wasting time - including staring at a blank wall. I found myself watching TV after a week into the challenge. Don't let yourself get into another distraction.

What Next?

My plan is to keep my phone more or less devoid of all the non utility apps and rely on laptop browser to reduce the distractions and the amount of time spent on them. No matter how determined you are to stay away from apps, they have a way to lure you in and trap you for hours eventually.

~

You don't need to block internet forever, but blocking it off for few days makes you realize what you absolutely need and what are eating into your day and thus, life.