Tag: noscreennight

Self Improvement

10 things to do on a no screen evening

onelittlehappything
(This post contains affiliates links, see my a full disclosure on my About page. I may receive a small commission for any link to Amazon. Any purchase you make helps support me write and provide this content.)

10 things to do on a no screen evening

I wrote another post recently about why you should have a no screen evening, but now here’s some ideas for what you can do on these evenings.

No screen evenings are a fun way of unplugging from the modern world and spending some time with family and friends. You can remove yourself from distractions, like TV and phones, and enjoy the company you are in. Or, just enjoy your own company.

These are some of my favourite things to do on a no screen evening, hopefully you can find some inspiration to plan a no screen evening of your own!

1. Read a book.

Not just any book. Its that book which you’ve read a few pages of, but have gotten too busy to read anymore. Mine was The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks (a brilliant read about some really interesting case studies of very unusual neurological disorders, check it out if you like the weird and the wonderful). I managed to finish the book through a no screen evening. Make time for those unloved books.

2. Cook a new recipe.

Top tip for this one: make sure you either have the recipe written down or have a cook book to hand. The no screen evening can be ruined if you have to fire up the tablet for the next step. At Christmas one of our gifts was a vegan friendly hamper (my partner is vegan, I’m mostly vegan), which included The Vegan Cook Book for Beginners, perfect for us as I’m still coming to terms with vegan cooking. Get yourself a copy though as it is full of really handy tips.

3. Play card games.

Buy yourself a deck of cards. You know have the capability to play hundreds of card games. You can play Solitaire on your own, or invite some friend’s around for a game of poker. If you’re like me and have a wicked sense of humour then check out Cards Against Humanity. If you’ve not heard of it before then tread with caution. It is essential a question and answers game, you have to come up with the funniest answer from your hand of cards. However the answers are rude, crude and sometimes down right offensive. I find it hilarious.

4. Have a board game evening.

I have some really fond memories of playing board games with my family when I was a kid, bring some nostalgia into your life and find some of the old board games you used to play. We recently invested in Monopoly, and have spent a few evenings playing, although I am slightly over competitive and a sore loser. I’m working on that though.

5. Pamper yourself!

Turn off the TV, run yourself a bubble bath, pour a glass of your favourite drink and treat yourself. You could always get some face masks, hair treatments and really pamper yourself! One of my favourite things to do is pluck my eyebrows, they always seem completely untamed so this is a good opportunity to get on top of things.

6. Pick up a new hobby.

You’ll need to do some groundwork here, figure out whats the right hobby for you. I’m quite partial to a bit of knitting, but you could try anything. Paper craft, crochet, cross stitch, wood burning, home brewing: the list is literally endless. There are a tonne of books you can invest in, or pick up from the library, just make sure you have the basics to hand and go for it.

7. Catch up with friends.

Invite your friends over, and then all of you place your phones in a bowl. The first to break and check it has to take the rest of you out for dinner. This is a perfect opportunity to strengthen bonds with loved ones, and you’ll find without the distraction of technology you will learn so much about each other, particularly if it’s people you haven’t seen in a whole.

8. Clean all of the things.

Without the distraction of TV or Facebook you can really get into the nitty gritty of cleaning pretty much anything. I don’t enjoy doing the cleaning BUT I do enjoy a deep clean. I mean the kind of clean where you get on your hands and knees and scrub the skirting boards until they’re gleaming. Nothing is more satisfying than actually seeing a noticeable difference. It doesn’t sound like the most exciting way to spend a no screen evening but guaranteed you’ll feel better for it.

9. Visit a local park.

You don’t have to stay in for a no screen evening! Find a local park and go for a walk. Take a loved one, or go on your own, just make sure you leave your phone at home (or turned off, I always get worried I’ll need it). Without your phone to hand you won’t be tempted to just take pictures of the beautiful scenery, you can truly enjoy it.

10. Do some writing.

Get yourself a journal and write an entry. Get together with friends, each armed with a pen, each person gets to write ten words on a piece of paper with only the last word of the previous sentence showing. Hilarious. Always wanted to write a book? Now’s the time. You could even invest in an old fashioned typewriter! I’m a big fan of the written word, if you push yourself you may be able to come up with something interesting, just have plenty of pens and paper to hand.

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Self Improvement

Why you need a no screen night

onelittlehappything
(This post contains affiliates links, see my a full disclosure on my About page. I may receive a small commission for any link to Amazon. Any purchase you make helps support me write and provide this content.)

Why you need a no screen night

What is a no screen night?

It is exactly what it sounds like, no screens for an evening! No phones, no TVs, no laptops, no tablets. This could be something you could try to implement monthly, weekly or even nightly. But you need to give it a go.

It’s something I’ve been considering for a while, and I do try to unplug as much as possible, but I have been struggling, mostly due to my love of writing blog posts! (And Pinterest, always Pinterest).

My partner and I have decided to dedicate some of our time together as being no screen time. I’m terrible for browsing through my phone, and he’s just as bad browsing through his tablet. But there are so many reasons why we should unplug.

Why should you have a no screen night?

There’s many many reasons why a no screen night is a good idea. If you’ve clicked on the link for this post you probably already know, in your heart of hearts, that a no screen evening is a good idea, but here’s some detailed reasons why.

1. Spend less on electricity.

Seems pretty obvious once you say it out loud, but the less electrical gadgets you have plugged in, the less you will spend on your electricity bill. I can’t say my partner and I use a lot of electricity anyway, but we’ll be monitoring how much our usage drops over the next few months. You can actually buy monitors to see how much electricity you are using, which is an awesome idea! This means you can actually compare your no screen evenings to plugged in evenings and see a numerical difference. Money isn’t the key to happiness but being able to save a few pounds is never a bad thing either.

2. Quality time with loved ones.

Again, this one seems pretty obvious. But without the distraction of TV or smart phones you can really reconnect with the people around you. I’m guilty of casually scrolling through Facebook when people are talking to me, I don’t mean to do it, I don’t want to do it, but its an unconscious action. Without the opportunity to grab my phone (I turn it off for no screen time) you’ll find yourself more engaged in the moment.

3. Happiness, pure blissful happiness.

Raise your hand if your guilty of scrolling through Facebook and getting a little bit jealous of what you see? Yep, me too. FOMO is a real thing and something you should be aware of. People only generally tend to share the best parts of their life on social media and so it’s easy to think that’s the way they always live. Not true. Even the most glamorous of Instagram models wake up with messy hair and smelly breath, just remember that. It’s almost like a weight off your shoulders making the effort to disengage from the rest of the world.

4. Self awareness.

No screen nights are also a brilliant thing to do on your own. Use that time to find something you’re passionate about, whether it be a new hobby, batch cooking meals for the week ahead, or even just having a bit of a pamper session. You’ll maybe learn something new about yourself. I’ve already learnt that wood burning is the coolest hobby in the world. I have a similar kit to this one which is good for beginners, but there are so many options out there to suit any budget. Pick something you can get passionate about.

5. Finding yourself with a lot more time.

Kind of linking to number 4, you’ll be surprised just how much time you waste either watching TV or scrolling through social media. Without a screen to distract you, you’ll be able to achieve so much more in one evening. I like to spend as much time as possible at the weekend unplugged so that I can prepare meals for the week ahead, and get ahead on all of the house work. I’ve batch cooked and frozen a tonne of pancakes. That’s a win in my book.

6. Saving the planet.

Yep, a pretty solid reason to unplug don’t you think? The less electricity we use, the better for the environment, simple as that. If you’re pretty dedicated to unplugging you may also find you are buying less gadgetry, which is again brilliant for the planet. In our house we have 1 TV, 1 smart phone, 1 tablet and 1 laptop. I see this as being slightly too much, but I know compared to a lot of households this is unbelievably little. But you know what? It feels good to have less.

Treat yourself, plan a no screen evening with friends, or even just on your own. Unplug from the world and see the benefits for yourself. There is only so much I can write to convince you it’s a brilliant idea, you’ll never know for definite the benefits without trying for yourself. Let me know how you get on in the comments.

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