Run a 30‑day digital reset to rebuild your defaults from scratch

Your phone buzzes on the counter while you pour coffee, and your hand twitches to grab it. That reflex tells you something important—it’s time to run a real experiment. Pick a 30‑day window and declare a reset. For a month, you will step away from every optional app, site, and feed. You won’t white‑knuckle your way through boredom. You’ll fill the space with better things, the ones you always say you want more of.

Before you begin, draw two columns: essential and optional. Essential keeps your work or safety intact. Optional is everything else, even if it’s convenient. Then write operating procedures for any exceptions, so you’re not deciding on the fly. A coaching client kept texts but set Do Not Disturb by default and checked twice a day; her shoulders literally dropped after three days.

Plan replacements with care. Put three walks on your calendar. Reserve Saturday morning for a library visit. Ask a friend to meet for a long coffee. The first week might feel jumpy, like your brain keeps reaching for a patch that isn’t there. That’s normal. By day ten, the noise fades. You notice small things again—the squeak of your front door, the way the afternoon sun hits the table. I might be wrong, but your sleep will probably improve too.

On day 30, rebuild from zero. Bring back only the tools that pass a strict screen: they must directly serve your values, be the best option, and have clear rules. The rest stays out. You’ll finish lighter, with a steady focus that makes work flow and family time feel present. In behavior terms, you’re interrupting cue‑craving loops, then installing identity‑based rules. That’s how resets become new defaults, not just detoxes.

Pick your start date, tell someone you trust, and mark it on your calendar. List what’s essential for work and safety, then treat everything else as optional for 30 days. For any allowed exceptions, write exact rules so you don’t have to negotiate with yourself. Fill the calendar with walks, reading, skill practice, and face‑to‑face time, so the gap doesn’t get filled by boredom. On day 30, reintroduce only what directly serves your values, is the best method, and has clear boundaries. Put those rules where you’ll see them. Start the countdown today.