103 Ways to Digitally Detox and Regain Your Humanity.
Take your sons and daughters to the park.
Read The Moviegoer by Walker Percy.
Paint a picture.
Turn off your air and open your windows.
Walk barefoot in the grass, in the dirt, in the rain.
Visit the Lincoln Memorial. Keep a journal.
Watch Rushmore.
Listen to Radiohead’s OK Computer uninterrupted.
Read Flannery O’Connor’s collection of short stories Everything That Rises Must Converge.
View the Howard Finster exhibit at the High Museum of Art.
Listen to Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s I See A Darkness, uninterrupted.
Mow your own grass.
Grow your own tomatoes: even if you don’t like tomatoes, your friends do.
Learn a card trick.
Read The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.
Take a sabbatical, no matter how short.
Bake an apple pie—make your own crust.
Make something out of wood.
Learn G, C, and D chords on the guitar. And wail on them!
Attend something at Radio City Music Hall.
Take a photo. Develop it. Frame it.
Memorize the lyrics to “Sweet Caroline” by Neal Diamond.
Volunteer.
Wear something for comfort, not style.
Ride a bike.
Visit a National Park.
Knit a hat.
Read a book on science.
Listen to Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, uninterrupted.
Make a short movie, play it for your friends.
Play wiffleball with the kids on your street.
Visit a working farm. Observe.
Attend a concert by your local symphony.
Listen to Radiohead’s Kid A uninterrupted. Then do it again.
Act like a tourist.
Smell the coffee.
Wear socks that don’t match your outfit.
Become a beekeeper.
Go surfing.
Learn to play Van Halen’s "Jump" on the piano.
Visit the Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Skip a rock in a creek.
Dance in your underwear to Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself.”
Climb a tree.
Make something out of Play-Doh.
Listen to “Prelude and Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla” from Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner.
Play checkers.
Study another religion.
Listen to live music at your local bar.
Drink a bottle of Chimay with a friend, repeat.
Avoid chain restaurants and stores when possible.
Listen to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons uninterrupted.
Read Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Repurpose something.
Visit your local library.
Unplug.
Read The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck.
Handwrite a letter.
Write a poem.
Attend something at Atlanta’s Fox Theater.
Listen to Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Movement 4, “March to the Scaffold,” performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy.
Go for a boat ride.
Fly a kite.
Train to be a pilot.
Play chess.
Take your spouse on a date.
Watch Dancer in the Dark.
Visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Listen to Ten by Pearl Jam uninterrupted.
Read to your kids.
Visit the Vietnam Memorial.
Read The Book of Images by Rainer Maria Rilke.
Observe Sabbath.
Ride a four-wheeler.
Ride a four-wheeler in the snow.
Go horseback riding.
Go horseback riding in the snow.
Smoke a pipe occasionally.
Take a walk.
Join a sports team.
Wrestle with your sons and/or daughters.
Go fishing.
Give away some money; someone always has less than you.
Take a walk in the rain.
Stop by a friend’s house unannounced.
Learn to cook soul food.
Take a walk while it’s snowing.
Start a hobby that you previously abandoned.
Read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Ride a skateboard.
Make a wish.
Take your daughter on a date.
Believe in unicorns.
Read a book on philosophy.
Hang a birdhouse in your yard.
Listen to “Prelude, Suite for Solo Cello No. 6” by Yo-Yo Ma.
Go swimming in the ocean.
Make a card for someone.
Light a candle.
Play air guitar.
Draw a cartoon.
Read On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
Make a sand castle.
Do all of this without announcing it on social media or YouTube. Do it because life isn’t lived in pixels and bytes but in the amazing technicolor of a beautiful, beautiful world.
This post was taken from my first nonfiction book, co-authored with one of my best friends, Jason Locy. The book is Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society. And you can still buy it all these years later. We had a lot of fun making this list, as you can tell. We made the list years ago, but it all holds up nicely as I read it. Feel free to leave a tip to support my writing ministry, and by all means, share it with a friend or family member.
When I dusted off this list, it reminded me of the heart behind The Summer Slowdown, a new mini-course I released this week. The Summer Slowdown is a “Practical Summer Challenge to Inspire You to Slow Down & Revitalize Your Life.” Click the button below to explore more and buy.