Unplug - by Richard Simon (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Turn off your phone and turn on your life with step-by-step instructions and success stories from dozens of people who've set healthy boundaries with their devices.

The average American spends the equivalent of more than 75 full days a year looking at their phone. It can become an all-consuming addiction that puts a strain on virtually every facet of our existence from the way we sleep, eat, and exercise to our ability to focus and make new memories. Most importantly, it takes us away from our lives, our relationships, and the real world. But although it may seem impossible, there is always a way to overcome digital distraction: you can always turn off your phone.

In Unplug, Richard Simon lays out a plan to detox from your phone, including different breakup styles, things to do with your newfound time, lightly reintegrating a smartphone into your life, and finally, helping others quit. These tips and strategies are interspersed with success stories, including Simon's own story of turning off his phone for a whole year, plus those of 25 others, including a professional baseball player (Nick Castellanos), a cable news host (Steve Hilton), as well as ordinary folks including a principal, a pastor, and a couple who quit their phones together. Plus, expert insights from bestselling authors and physicians who specialize in digital wellness including Dr. Anna Lembke (Dopamine Nation), and Brian Merchant (The One Device).

Review Quotes

"Readers will benefit from Simon's straightforward, step-by-step approach, interspersed with useful sidebars on such topics as why well-meaning "digital hacks," like deleting social media apps, are mostly ineffective. Readers uncomfortable with how much they're glued to their devices will be inspired to break free."---- Publisher's Weekly

"Diving deep into the growing community of people who radically re-invented their relationships with their phones, Richard Simon identifies a roadmap for the rest of us to achieve a less distracted and more meaningful life."

----Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Slow Productivity and Digital Minimalism

"Richards Simon's Unplug is a practical, down-to earth guide to untethering yourself from your phone.
Simon describes the steps that successful people have taken in the past, and presents several models for "breaking up" with our phones, culminating in a catalogue of the virtues of unplugging. As Simon explains, life is richer and fuller the less time we spend mindlessly scrolling and staring at our phones."----Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Irresistible and Anatomy of a Breakthrough

About the Author

Richard Simon has directed the website strategy for Georgetown Law in Washington, DC, since 2010, and is a former reporter and webmaster for The Daily Record newspaper in Maryland. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and three children. To this day, he leaves his phone off by default.