7 Easy Steps for a Refreshing Technology Break ...

Start using a service such as Pocket or Instapaper, and you’ll find a technology break is much easier. These apps allow you to gather together interesting news and stories from across the web. Simply click the button, and the article will be saved to your account – with all the adverts, banners and distractions removed. You’ll find reading is much easier without so much visual clutter, and you can sit down and read through everything you’ve saved at once.

Everyone has a website that they could waste hours on, whether it’s a big news site, a forum or a social media site. You nip on for a quick glance, a five-minute break or just to relax, and soon you’ve lost hours. The Mindful browsing plugin lets you list those too-tempting URLs, and shows a warning whenever you try to access them. It gives you the chance to consider if you’ve actually got time to waste now, or if you should wait until later.

Yep, the app with this snazzy name is designed to relax you without getting you caught up in what Kim K is wearing or whether Miley Cyrus is out of control. Instead it offers soothing music or guided meditation that lets your brain switch off and your eyes recover. You can even choose between a 7-minute break or a 13-minute stress session.

If you really need to get something done, Freedom is the app for you. Tell it how long you need to be offline, and it’ll completely block internet access for that period, meaning you’ll actually get that project or report written. If you can’t make it, you can restart your PC and access will be restored. You’ll be surprised how much of a distraction the internet is!

Self Control is very similar to Freedom, but it has some key differences. You can tell Self Control exactly what you want to block, so that you still have access to some of the internet, which is really useful for research. Unlike Freedom, though, the block can’t be stopped by restarting. Once you’ve put yourself offline for any length of time, you can’t stop it. It's ideal if you really can’t muster the willpower yourself.

I’ve been using YogaGlo for the last few days, and it’s amazing. Yes, it’s another yoga app, but this one focuses on technology related issues. Tight shoulders or a painful back? It’ll sort them out in no time, using poses from all levels. It’s really easy to follow, even for complete yoga newbies, and it’s great.

If you need an urgent technology break NOW, you need Insight or Equanimity. Both are meditation apps that work on quickly relieving stress and making you feel whole, and both are ideal for using at work. Insight has some really cute images of singing bowls and Tibetan music, and Equanimity lets you choose your own iTunes songs to play. Perfect.

A technology break doesn’t have to be long-term. Just a few minutes away from technology, if spent well, can make you feel refreshed and revitalized. The problem? Breaking away from tech can seem far too hard. Got a tip for getting a break? I’d love to hear it!