Days in the Life of Mo

Every December, I tell myself the same lie: “This time, I’m switching off.”
And every December, there I am, standing under fairy lights, one hand holding a glass of something fizzy, the other “just quickly checking my emails.”

Because somewhere between “Out of Office” and “just one more deploy,” we forgot how to rest.

The Modern Curse of the Developer Brain

See, the problem isn’t just technology, it’s us. The ones who claim we “love tech,” but secretly flinch when we hear the Teams notification even in our dreams. We live in tabs, push commits at 1 AM, and treat weekends like extra time to fix that one annoying bug that’s been haunting us since August.

The irony? We built this connected world, yet can’t seem to disconnect from it.

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 31% of adults say they’re “almost constantly online.” And that number skyrockets among people in tech. Our world doesn’t just live on the internet, it breathes through it.

So, when we say we’re going “offline,” it’s like asking a fish to take a relaxing walk on land.

The Ritual of Letting Go

Let’s start small.
Turn off push notifications. No one needs to know when their app just “added new emojis.” (Unless you’re the one who built them, then, fair.)

Put your phone on Do Not Disturb, and here’s the trick: don’t turn it back on after ten minutes.

Find a book that doesn’t light up, make a playlist that doesn’t require a Wi-Fi connection, or, brace yourself… leave the house without your phone.

If that last one made your heart race, congratulations. You’re the exact person who needs this detox.

What Happens When You Actually Switch Off

Here’s the magic part: once you stop checking your phone every few minutes, the world gets louder in the best way. You start to hear things again; wind, laughter, your own thoughts.

Your brain stops sprinting. You stop refreshing. You start remembering what it feels like to be.

Studies from Harvard Health show that regular digital breaks lower cortisol (the stress hormone), improve focus, and even help you sleep better. And honestly? That’s the kind of productivity hack no app can give you.

A Reminder (From Me to You)

You’ve earned your rest. You’ve built, debugged, deployed, fixed, and pushed your limits.
You deserve quiet. Not the kind that feels like loneliness, but the kind that sounds like healing.

So, when the holidays roll in, close the laptop. Step away from the monitor glow.
The code will wait. The world won’t.

A Little Holiday Challenge

For one day this holiday, go completely offline.
No phone. No laptop. No smart TV. Just you and the analog world.

You might discover that life runs perfectly fine without Wi-Fi. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll remember that you do too.

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Stay Human, Stay Curious

If you liked this post, stick around for more real-life reflections from a dev girl who’s learning that rest is a form of productivity. Subscribe for more tech musings, digital therapy, and gentle reminders to close your laptop once in a while.