With the deluge of devices and social media these days, it’s really hard to put aside our electronics and pay attention to the real world.

Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by folks talking on their cell phones or having their heads buried in their tablets and laptops. And instead of working a regular 9 to 5 job, we are taking our work home with us—an 8-hour day is turning into a 24-hour day of work.

It’s no wonder that we are distracted and unfocused—we haven’t recharged our batteries. To recharge we need to unplug; take a breather from all the frenetic electronic noise.

We checked in with our Allovus folks and asked them, “How do you unplug?” Here are their tips:

Alan Walker | Senior Account Manager

I have a few, most involve things with an engine.

• When I ride my motorcycle, the phone is kept in the bikes hard bags.
• When the kids and ride our ATV’s, the phone is turned off.
• I have a 1970 International Scout that I am working on. Whether the phone is on or not, this is a good way for me to unplug from all of the modern devices we have; makes for a nice detach—very  unplugged.

Chloe Surdyk | Project Manager/Studio Manager

At night, I charge my phone in the living room, so when we wake up in the morning it’s snuggle time with the baby, and I don’t reach for my phone on the nightstand.

• I turn my ringer on silent when we have guests, and I leave my phone in the diaper bag when we’re out visiting family/friends.
• I subscribe to a daily newsletter (NextDraft) as my source of “news” from the internets … this cuts down on internet surfing time.

Amy Greenbaum | Senior Producer

• Unplug…  go to the barn and ride my horse.

David Hose | Project Manager

• Hypocrisy is something my boys learned about a long time ago…so when we visit family, I park the car, pull out my phone and tell the boys, all devices in the glove compartment; I start the process by putting my phone in first. Note: I have to lock the car to ensure they don’t sneak out during our visit to retrieve their various devices.

Viviane Veraguth | Senior Talent Acquisitions Manager

• I sometimes go phoneless for the whole weekend and I love it! And…a bottle of wine always helps, too.

Steve Godfrey | Senior Designer

•  My trick is to charge the phone in a room in the house where I can’t hear it…. that way I rationalize the necessity of charging, while still having an excuse for being “unavailable” when my kids complain. I will often leave it “charging” all evening…..

Sean Gephardt | Developer agrees – he employs the same trick that Steve does. Charging the phone in a room where you can’t hear it ring is the perfect excuse to unplug.

Kurt Hughes | Designer

• I’ll check my work mail in the evening, but if it’s time-stamped after I get home, I scan the preview and don’t open it until the morning.

Shannon Lee | Senior Director Operations

•  Ironically, I got home tonight, and my iPhone decided to black screen…so apparently that is how I’m going to unplug for the night!

Stay tuned for more tips on how we unplug in our Part Two article.

© MARTINA DALTON, Designer, Allovus