Practical Tips on How to Unplug and Reconnect with Wanderlust
Introduction
According to Condé Nast Traveller, TikToks shared with the #holiday tag garnered 3 billion global views in September 2024. In an era of travel influencers and TikTok travel trends, social media has dramatically altered the way we travel. Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar to you:
You made it! You’ve summited a mountain with a group of friends. The collective rush of post-hike endorphins crown your group with a sense of accomplishment as a vast tapestry of greens and the hues of various wildflower species stretches out before you. But, instead of breathing in the scent of wildflowers, stretching your aching limbs, and immersing yourself in this once-in-a-lifetime panoramic view; you’re digging through your backpack trying to find your phone. “Let’s take a selfie!”
In today’s scroll culture, the sinking feeling of missing out on a beautiful sunset or being distracted from a conversation with a loved one, because of social media is all too familiar. Unplugging and practicing mindfulness helps us to reduce the chaos of our hyper-connected lives. Detoxing from the constant busy-ness of the digital landscape while travelling increases mental clarity, releases tensions and allows you to fully immerse yourself in the culture and beauty of your destination.
How Will the Eco Travel Memo Help You Travel Mindfully
Creating a virtual scrapbook of your travels on social media has many benefits. By posting photos and videos of your journey online can help you connect with other travellers through forums and chatrooms, allow you to share your travel tips and tricks with your audience, and give your friends and family a glimpse into your adventures.
However, if you view travel as a vehicle for self-exploration and the search for meaning beyond the humdrum nature of your nine to five. The Eco TravelMemo, by Kulkea, should become your new travel bestie. This pocket-sized memo book is sturdy enough to withstand even the toughest terrains, and comes with a no-notification and no pop-up guarantee - allowing you the freedom to journal without any distractions.
According to Psychology Today, documenting your travels the old-fashioned way has several physical and psychological benefits. Journaling by hand allows for a meditative experience that activates multiple regions of your brain leading to improved neural connections and enhanced cognitive function. Allowing yourself to become fully engrossed in the pen to paper experience can improve your memory and sense of self.
Tips for a Mindful Journey
Journal Daily
Challenge yourself to start and end your day with reflections in your journal. Here are some helpful writing prompts to get you started:
- What have you learned about your destination?
- What challenged you?
- What are you looking forward to?
My favourite part of journaling is the guarantee of privacy. You don’t have to share your writing with anyone unless you want to. This privacy allows you the freedom to let your mind wander, let the ink flow freely and enjoy this meditative experience.
Journaling each morning is a great way to start your day with a sense of clarity, and night time journaling is a proven method of unwinding for better sleep.
Collect Souvenirs
Souvenirs like ticket stubs, postcards, receipts, and polaroids can be pasted in your travel memo. Collecting souvenirs to spruce up your memo book will exercise your creativity muscle and protect these mementos so you can revisit them at any time.
Immerse Yourself in the Local Food Culture
I bet your tastebuds enjoy traveling as much as you do! Many travel aficionados collect food recipes unique to their destination. Picture this: While on your trek through Tanzania you fall in love with a local dish called Kisamvu; or while journeying through France you discover lobster bisque.
Jotting down the crustacean broth recipe or the cooking directions for Kisamvu provides a unique opportunity to connect with a local chef and take a part of the food culture home to share with your friends and family.
Put your Phone on Flight Mode
With the advent of social media and the consistent wave of information that comes with it, it is important to reflect on why we travel in the first place: adventure and escape from the routines of our busy lives.
Ground yourself in your new environment by resisting the urge to snap a picture or take a video of your surroundings. Take a couple of minutes to sit down, breathe, and describe the scene in words. Use all five senses to create a lasting handwritten memory:
- What do you see?
- What sounds swirl around you?
- What smells waft through the air?
- Describe the textures within your environment.
- How was the last meal you ate?
Instead of looking at the world through a screen, this immersive journaling exercise requires you to engage all your senses and create a vivid and lasting memory.
How to Create Digitally Detoxed Memories
All travelers have one thing in common: wanting to create unique experiences. We travel in search of wanderlust and meaning, learn about different cultures and cultivate lasting memories with loved ones.
When we are mindful of our use of technology during important moments we make a promise to be more present and engaged - setting the scene for a more meaningful and intimate experience.
Summit a Peak
Standing on top of a mountain overlooking a valley or picture-perfect cityscape grounds you in feelings of accomplishment and gratitude. Day hikes or multi-day treks like the Inca Trail in Peru or the Otter Trail in South Africa promise to test your strength and endurance.
Each step in this vigorous terrain requires focus and camaraderie with fellow hikers. Taking a moment during respites to journal about your experience and glue in some of the local greenery will enhance this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Hit the Slopes
Whether you’re venturing into the Swiss Alps or Lake Louise in Canada, nothing clears your mind quite like a thick blanket of snow covering a mountain side. Shredding the slopes requires your full attention, both mentally and physically. The adrenalin rush of gliding down a mountain side will allow you to forget all about scrolling through social media and checking emails.
Your pocket-sized memo book, which comes with a matching pen, will fit perfectly into your ski jacket. Doesn’t journaling on a ski lift, as you look over the vast tapestry of snow covered mountains and pine trees, sound like the perfect opportunity to unwind and reflect?
- Reflect on how shredding the mountain made you feel.
- Jot down which slope you’re hitting the next day.
- And how much you look forward to relaxing with a hot cup of cocoa back at the resort.
Camp Under the Stars
Nothing says ‘off-the-grid’ quite like setting up a tent and trading screentime for scary stories and smores around the campfire. Breaking away from the hustle and bustle of a busy city, and opting for a starry night instead of movies or Instagram stories, creates an idyllic setting for meaningful connections with your loved ones.
Whether your backcountry camping in the Rockies or Australia’s Outback, journaling while listening to birdsong a bubbling creek truly encapsulates the spirit of unplugging.
Celebrate love and unity
We create our most intimate and meaningful memories by spending time with loved ones. And nothing brings a family together like a wedding. undivided attention. Destination weddings are an excuse to travel and an opportunity to reconnect with family members you may have lost contact with, or haven’t seen in a long time.
Whether you’re immersing yourself in the cool beachy vibes of one of Malibu’s wedding venues or sipping chardonnay at a vineyard wedding in Cape Town, you do not want to miss the moment the couple says “I do”.
Putting your phone away and paying full attention to the ceremony will respect the couple’s privacy and significance of the moment, and give photographers the chance to take photos without having to navigate a whirlwind of other cameras flashing.
Since the couple will be too busy to journal on the day of their wedding, the eco travel memo gives guests the opportunity to journal their favorite wedding moments to give to the newlyweds.
Prioritize sustainable travel
Analysis has shown that social media consumption has a direct impact on our carbon footprint. Social media giants like TikTok and Reddit contribute to over 2 grams of carbon emissions per minute you spend scrolling. Curbing your reliance on devices while traveling benefits your physical health, mental well-being and the planet.
Replacing social media with an eco-friendly documentation tool will reduce your carbon footprint. The Eco Travel Memo is made with recyclable materials and is specifically designed for travelers who are environmentally conscious.
Conclusion
Deciding to detox from digital devices doesn’t require you to throw your cellphone out the window and set up camp in the mountains. Unplugging simply means to prioritize mindful and intentional use of your devices.
By reconnecting with wanderlust, without feeling pressure to post your journeys on social media, you can boost your mental health, be rewarded with mental clarity, improve your sense of self, and reduce your carbon footprint.