5 Un-Plugged Activities to Try This Weekend

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A few weekends ago, I accidentally did the best thing ever.

I left my wallet, laptop, and phone charger in my garage for the entire weekend.

See, at that time, I was still splitting my time between downtown Houston and the Cypress ‘burbs. My dad and I happened to be heading back to Cyp at the same time, so I just climbed in the car with him after coffee and mani’s with my friend, McKenna, but as I was chatting with him about my day, I completely ignored my work tote sitting in my back seat. Oops.

I didn’t realize it until we pulled up to dinner and I went to throw my bag over my shoulder, and – yup. Left my bag with my wallet, laptop, and phone charger. (And my bag full of lipsticks – so it was a make-up free weekend for the most part, too.)

I didn’t freak though. In fact, I had just been talking to McKenna about how we used to have so much fun back in middle school. We didn’t have cell phones or Facebook accounts, and Instagram was not a thing, so we spent the time at each other’s houses listening to music, reading Sarah Dessen novels, watching Harry Potter, and writing each other notes. It was such a relaxed way of life, and resulted in us having such a tight bond since we weren’t always having conversations over our news feeds and Snapchatting each other rather than having IRL conversations.

So, when I noticed the missing bag, I embraced it. An un-plugged weekend may have been just what I needed.

I’m going to share some of the things I did over my un-plugged weekend, as well as provide you with a little inspiration of your own!

Read a book

Duh, right? But seriously! I’m sure there’s one sitting on your nightstand or laying somewhere around your house that you’ve been meaning to pick up. Maybe you’ve read a chapter or two whilst tanning or during a commercial break of the Bachelorette, but it’s time to get down to business. Read that book!

Have dinner with someone and don’t get on your phone

That Saturday night, Cam and I went to our favorite place for dinner…Zoe’s Kitchen! I know, so fancy. But really, we’d rather have our favorite entrees there (chicken pomodarino for Cam, veggie kabobs for me, two side greek salads with extra olives) plus one of their giant, delicious chocolate chip cookies than a 4-course meal any day.

It had been a week since I’d seen Cam, so I spent the time asking him about his week at work, and he in turn heard about mine. I feel more connected to whomever I’m with when I’m fully engaged in conversation with them, and I am asking them questions about them: their week, how their day was, what they are currently working on, etc. I like hearing what people are passionate about, and I’m also someone who strives to be a better listener when someone is sharing their struggles or just their general emotions. This is hard to do with buzzing phones and blinking screens, so definitely leave your phone at home or in the car next time you’re dining with a loved one.

Organize a problem area

The junk drawer under the phone. The shelf above your desk. The space under your bed. We all have that “problem area” where we seem to just keep storing and accumulating junk. For me, it changes depending on where I am living, but when I need to spend some time un-plugged and off my phone, I like to clean my physical space rather than my digital inbox. It may be just the thing you need to help you feel de-cluttered emotionally as well.

Meal prep or cook/bake something for the week

Everyone likes to make excuses for not having food they can eat during the week, but it’s really just as simple as setting aside time to cook or bake. Once you minimize those weekend distractions such as watching every single person each their brunch on Instagram stories, you have so much more time to get in the kitchen. My favorite form of self-care is actually to go to the grocery store and stock up on healthy produce for the week. This un-plugged weekend, I visited Kroger and got a canteloupe, some lean turkey sausage, and a TON of veggies for the week.

At home, I chopped all my veggies (zucchini, green beans, white potatoes, brussel sprouts, and carrots) and laid them all out on a big pan covered in parchment paper. After drizzling everything with some olive oil and sprinkling some Italian seasoning, I baked it at 400 for about 15 minutes, stirred it, and then returned it to the oven for another 10-20 minutes. Then I had some veggies to eat alongside my turkey sausage for week night dinners!

Actually rest

My internal alarm clock is set to about 5:45 am and it’s so evil to me on the weekends! I get up around that time Monday-Friday to catch the morning news and have hot lemon water before an early morning Pilates class at Defy, but on the weekends, I can’t seem to snooze that internal clock. So I wake up early, and feel fine, but come lunch time or right after, I’m ready to crash.

So you know what? I took a good nap! Sunday, Cam went out to power wash his car, and I grabbed his puppy Milo, turned on Friends, and slept for about 2 hours! My body totally needed it, but I may have ended up scrolling on my phone or playing around on Pinterest had I not taken the pledge to un-plug.