---
title: "needing to unplug — alex laughnan"
description: "this weekend, i welcomed one of my good friends and her significant other to a weekend in the bay area. it was so great to see and connect…"
url: "https://alexlaughnan.com/blog/needing-to-unplug/"
---

[← blog](https://alexlaughnan.com/blog)

# needing to unplug

february 2, 2016

this weekend, i welcomed one of my good friends and her significant other to a weekend in the bay area. it was so great to see and connect with both of them as i had not yet had the opportunity to meet her special person due to my portland departure. alongside new friendships, this weekend was a great time to disconnect and foster time and space to unwind.

naturally as a developer and introvert, i spend a fair amount of time around my laptop responding to clients, building [cool things](https://acreative.io/experience) for them, and exploring the internet randoms. this not only represents my week activities, but my weekend as well (remember those things called _deadlines_?). this weekend forced me to leave my laptop, notes, tasks, and trello behind. it was absolute bliss.

there are several conversations around taking time to unplug. [forbes talks](http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/02/06/feeling-disconnected-5-reasons-to-unplug-from-technology-after-work/#68b99ec95247) about some of the benefits of disconnecting from the internet; isolating them into a list, we have:

-   stress recovery
-   acknowledging the multi-tasking myth
-   internet obsession
-   addressing sleep and overall mental state/health
-   and overall connection.

these all sound like good things to be aware of. i also enjoyed how _becoming minimalist_ [recognizes](http://www.becomingminimalist.com/unplug-please/) the notion of disconnecting:

> _solitude is harder to find in an always-connected world._

as someone who rarely experiences fomo (fear of missing out), i think it is more important to discover the collective randoms that are outside of my daily or weekly routines. each time i find intentional moments to leave my laptop, find a new space, or catch up with people in my life, i feel renewed and invigorated.

do you experience that too?

onward!

> this post was originally published on [acreative.](https://acreative.io/a/needing-unplug) it is a new thing i’m working on, so you should check it out.