LAUREN IMPARATO

It is time for a digital detox.

Yes, you read this correctly (and digitally). After years without a break from my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air, I have decided to unplug for a few days.

Technology is amazing, but it can get in the way of our true self nature and can interrupt processes like our creativity, productivity, sex drive, sleep patterns and even metabolism. Sometimes we need to just put down the phone and be ourselves, which is what I have set out to do.

In fact, as you read this, I am already in a faraway land with all my electronics shut off and hidden out of reach. I hope that at least once in the next couple of weeks, you can do the same.

I promise you, it is possible. Trust me.

Here are five steps to getting your detox going and ensuring you are always the best you that you can be:

1. Shower and get dressed before you check your email.

2. Resist the urge to check social media during a meeting or meal—especially dinner.

3. Buy a real newspaper or magazine and get your fingers dirty from the ink.

4. Leave your phone at home or at the office on at least one walk or errand a day.

5. Stare into space for at least one minute a day.