CLEANSE AND DECLUTTER YOUR MIND

THE MASTER CLEANSE: ABSTINENCE

Objective: To put the kibosh on multi-tasking and create more conscious internet usage patterns; to eliminate distractions and increase attention spans Best for: Heavy or habitual users Time frame: One week

You’ll need:

A notebook and a pen to record the experience

To remove every app from every device (including email — unless it’s essential to your work). This means putting headphones on ice too.

install a site-blocking extension on your laptop/desktop browser for a seven-day period.

A task team to keep you accountable. In other words, tell everyone you know. There’s nothing people like more than to play bad cop, given half a chance and a bag of peanut M&Ms.

A ‘competing response’ (psychology-speak for an alternative behaviour with personal resonance) to keep you occupied along the way. For example, reading a book, regular walks or embarking on a pet project you’ve put on pause.

A reward for successfully completing the process. This will motivate you to focus on the bigger picture. Aim for something super sensory like an aromatherapy massage, killer seats at a sold-out concert or a slap-up meal at your favourite restaurant.

Process:

Keep a daily record of the experience in your notebook. Notice how it makes you feel (nervous, irritable, empty, relieved) and how these emotions evolve throughout the week.

Pay attention to any behaviours pursuant to not achieving your desired reward: minimising, bargaining, gnashing and grinding of teeth, next-level Fomo.

Keep tabs on any rewards you thought you would miss: — Did you survive without checking Facebook every six minutes? — How does the new sense of mental space feel: liberating, calming, excruciating? — Did it make you more or less anxious not to hear notifications on your phone?

Jot down the new things you notice, paying attention to the five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. For example, the smell of coffee, the sounds of the city.

At the end of the week, replace the removed apps and disable any site-blocking extensions. Honourably discharge your family and friends.

Keep your notebook for another week but skip journaling for the first five days. Allow your conscious mind to regain its usual focus and routine before checking in on Day 6. When you do, pay attention to the following: — How do you feel now? Are you calmer? Is decision making easier or more difficult? Were you forced to rely on your intuition without having a search engine at hand? — Has your usage changed? Did you decide to evict any pointless apps that were occupying your digital real estate? Have you determined which ones give your life more ease and flow? For me, it’s online banking, Uber or Hailo taxi-booking services, Google Maps (I have zero sense of direction) and MindBody (a wellness app that allows me to book into local yoga or gym classes around the country). Everything else is negotiable. — Are you more conscious of when, where and why you reach for your phone or tablet, multitask or mindlessly browse? — Did you find an opportunity for doing and noticing other things or was it just a drag? — Did you rely more on your competing response to help you? How did it feel to realise the potential in something you’d neglected? — Did you quit the cleanse? If so, why? Was the habit too ingrained or was the social anxiety just too much?

THE MINI CLEANSE: THE 48-HOUR FAST

Objective: To be used as maintenance after completing a master cleanse; to be used independently to clear out the mental cobwebs and regain attentional focus Best for: Functional and casual users; the time-strapped in need of a brain boost Timeframe: 48 consecutive hours

Process:

Follow the Master Cleanse process on two consecutive days of your choice. So how did it go? Are you feeling refreshed or are you rocking gently in a foetal position mumbling something about the Kardashians? As your dopamine see-saw levels off, your mind should feel decluttered and more receptive to what’s around you.