Off The Grid: 21 Days with no iPhone or iPad
21 days of fasting. No iPhone or iPad. This will be incredibly uncomfortable, but I believe it’ll also be very healthy. I’m doing this to refocus. To remove the noise. To spend time on what really matters. Letting go of what doesn’t. I’ll spend a lot of time reading books, meditating, working out in the gym, praying, and living in silence, without any of the distractions I’ve become accustomed to. I wrote something on my mirror the other day when I made this decision, “1/6-1/26: I’m not losing anything. I’m gaining everything.” To let go is to receive. To remove control is to gain freedom. I’m excited for this little journey I’ll be taking for the next three weeks. See you soon.
Things to know
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Have you ever heard of Guided Access on iOS devices? I recommend learning about it. Triple tap lock button, Guided Access turns on, locking down the device to a single app. That’s what I’ll be using during these 21 days. Here’s why:
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iPad will still be on me, on airplane mode (no connection to the outside world). It’ll be password locked by a friend, so I won’t be able to open it up to the home screen. When I turn it on, it won’t go to the lock screen, it’ll go to Ulysses, my writing app. So, my iPad will only be a 1960’s typewriter. Nothing else.
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iPhone will still be on me. In airplane mode (no connection to the outside world). It’ll be password locked by a friend, so I won’t be able to open it up to the home screen. When I turn it on, it won’t go to the lock screen, it’ll go to the camera app, for my photography. So, my iPhone will only be a 1960’s camera. Nothing else.
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I’ll still have my Apple Watch on me. Which is a cellular version. So I’ll still have some connection to the outside world. For weather updates (rain), tracking sleep, calendar events, heart rate, activity rings, and using Apple Pay. The Watch does a lot, so it’ll be a good 21 day experiment of living with it as my only device.