10 Things that Happened When I Detoxed My Phone

I had the thought as I waited for my new dumb phone to power on "oh no, was this a mistake?!" I couldn't go back now. I had already declared to the world of Instagram that I was doing it. I was using a dumb phone for the next 40 days. I knew it was the right decision, how could it not be? My life would probably improve in EVERY SINGLE way. But I was scared.

Yes, it was hard a times. Breaking a habit always is. But the withdrawal experience is its own blog post. Detoxing my phone was also SO rewarding, the benefits far outweigh the challenges.

Well, 40 days turned into 90 days turned into 180 days turned into 360 days turned into 450 days…turned into a new way of life.

And now, I lead other women into this new way of life. That’s right, now I am on a mission to walk with women in detoxing their phones. I'll tell you all about it later in this post.

The Truth About Detoxing Your Phone

Here's the truth: detaching from your phone will nearly always be inconvenient. It will never feel like the right time. But this one decision changed the course of my life — my family, my home, my faith, not to mention my relationship to technology. Truthfully, it can’t be summed up in 10 things, there are countless ways it improved my life. But I will do my best to bring those countless things to 10.

10 Things That Happened When I Detoxed My Phone

1. I became more fully present to my kids, my faith, and my life.

   I discovered that while I had been attached to my phone, I had been living in an “illusion of presence.” I was "there" — sitting with my kids, in the room — but my mind was somewhere else, trained by years of scrolling. I was physically there but I was emotionally and mentally absent. I discovered this shocking truth during the first week of my detox when my children were coming to snuggle with me more. Because they sensed it, mom is here, fully, mom is available.

2. My brain stopped racing.
   I experienced stillness, no swirling thoughts, no anxiety, no middle of the night wake-ups with looping thoughts, fears, concerns of the world that were not mine to carry…it was all quieted, my mind was capable of stillness. Sitting outside with empty hands or just a notepad and pen while my kids play has become one of my favorite activities.

3. I slept great, I rested well, and I had more energy!
   I found myself on a more normal circadian rhythm. Getting tired earlier at night and sleeping better throughout the night. I found myself capable of rejuvenating rest in the pauses of my day that used to be filled with scrolling. This naturally led to having more sustainable energy throughout the day.

4. I became a homemaker I always dreamed of being…with a rhythm for the first time ever!

   Routines and habits in my home took the fast track! My home was cleaner and I found myself with finished to do lists which led to more time in leisure and enjoying moments with my children. And milling my own grain for bread no less!

   On the first day of my detox, I had a very clean house. I stood at the kitchen sink, like now what? What do I do with my empty hands? Oh, I know. I went to the living room and put on some music and began to dance with my kids. It was so beautiful and I was so present in that moment I began to cry. I cried for the beauty but also for the moments like this I have missed. It was powerful.

   Now I am picking up more dreamy homemaking hobbies and finding more creative time in those pockets of time as well.

5. I spent less money. became less impulsive.
   Yes, I was less impulsive. There was not a constant voice coming from my phone saying buy this and buy that. My life was full and all the solutions I was being sold to fix all these problems of my life, turns out could just be fixed with a detox of my phone. I found myself with more self control to discern what was urgent and what was important and what was neither of those things.

6. I stopped feeling numb.
   I didn’t know I had been numb until I detoxed and realizedI could feel everything deeper. I found myself more emotional, crying more, for joy and for sorrow. I felt how beautiful and precious life is and I could enter into those moments more fully. I also finally processed things I'd been putting off for years, and found healing I didn't know I still needed.

7. My wonder returned.
   Sunrise, sunsets, simply beautiful things in nature used to fill me with awe. It was a way I always felt close to God. I hadn’t realized that had gone missing until it came back. In the midst of my detox, I remember a moment I was walking in the house from my car and the night sky was clear, it struck me. It took my breath away and I found myself saying, suddenly, and out loud, “oh, hello Lord. There you are.” Something I hadn’t felt in a long time, something simple my phone had taken away with all its alluring dings. I began to experience these moments of wonder more frequently, finding joy delighting in my children playing and other simple things.

8. I began to have a daily prayer life again.
   It was hard to pray when I couldn’t be still or silent. I used to have a daily prayer life but eventually I found I was daily battling my phone replacing those moments of prayer. When I detoxed, I could pray again but I could pray even better than before! Whenever I felt a restlessness creep up of what do I do now (without my phone), I would follow that thought with “oh right! I can talk to the Lord". This is what I began to do during middle of the night nursing sessions with the baby, during harder moments when I wanted an escape, during breaks in the day, all of it, I began to turn to the Lord and talk to him. I found myself growing in surrender and in closeness with God. It has been the greatest blessing.

9. I read more books!
   I started going through my piles of books which had sat hardly touched for months, even years. My brain was no longer exhausted, but ready to focus and eager to learn. I didn’t realize before I detoxed how little I could sit still to focus on a book. I would get through a few pages and be bored. After the detox, it was not this way! Finishing books brought a satisfaction that has been life giving in many ways.

10. I became an example to my children that I was proud of.

    No more mom guilt in being attached to a device. In constantly telling my kids to wait until I finished “this one thing”. Finally I could say I was modeling a use of technology that was what I wanted for them too. And whats more, I became a better mom. Since my detox, I am more patient, more gentle, and less easily angered (which was likely coming from overstimulation). I am not perfect but I am way closer to the mother I desire to be than when I was attached to my phone.

Underneath all of it, one shift mattered most: being attached to my phone had trained me to be ego-centric. Everything was about satisfying my wants and needs, right now. I knew this was not compatible with living a life of virtue. The fruits of my life pre-detox and post-detox prove this. Not that I am living a completely virtuous life now, I am still human, I am still imperfect. But the detox turned my gaze outward. I could finally look up, look out, see others, listen and listen well. It's subtle, but it's foundational to everything else on this list.

At the start of my detox, when my children saw I was making changes, one of my children said to me, "Mommy, you should teach other moms how to not be on their phones so much."

“You know, honey, I think I will. I think I am meant to.”

And here we are.

What Will Your Story Be?

What will happen when you detox your phone? Let's find out.

Join The 40 Day Phone Detox — a guided, step-by-step path to detach from your phone and reorder your habits for good. Daily lessons, a Reflection Notebook, and a community of women walking through it with you, live.

Registration closes September 14.

And if you get cold feet? Don't worry — I did too. That's completely normal, which is exactly why I built a community to walk with you, so you don't have to feel any of this alone. We detox our phones together, at the same time as a cohort. This group will detox their phones from September 28-November 6.


Call it a break. Take 40 days away from your phone. You can always go back to the way things are now. But best case — you get to live the reality of some of these 10 things for yourself.


Join the 40 Day Phone Detox Today