1As a software developer, I spend most of my waking hours staring at various glowing screens.
2Last spring, I realised that I was checking my phone more than two hundred times a day.
3That rather uncomfortable discovery finally persuaded me to attempt a serious month-long digital detox experiment.
4I deleted every social media application and silenced all but the most essential notifications on my phone.
5The first week was surprisingly difficult; my hand kept reaching for a phone that had nothing to show me.
6By the second week, however, the constant itch to scroll through my feed had begun to fade away.
7I started reading paper books again and managed to finish three long novels before the month finally ended.
8Conversations with my friends grew noticeably longer, because nobody glanced down at a screen mid-sentence.
9Strangely, my work improved as well, since my attention was no longer being fragmented into pieces.
10When the month finally finished, I reinstalled only two applications and kept strict daily limits for both.
11The experiment taught me that technology should always serve my attention, and never be allowed to consume it.