We’ve all been there. Anxiously checking our phones, worried about what emails we might be missing, what texts we need to respond to and what posts we should look at on social media. Smartphones, the device that has connected us in so many ways, has started disconnecting us from what matters.

“There’s a global delusion that in order to succeed you have to be ‘always on,’” Arianna Huffington said this week during a keynote session at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City. “Truly, when did we start taking better care of our smartphones then ourselves?”

It’s a question that Huffington had to face after collapsing in 2007 from exhaustion, or what she calls “running on empty for too long.”

“If you would have asked me the day I collapsed if I was ok, I would have said I was fine,” said Huffington. “It’s that mentality that we have to keep going that hurts us in the long run.”

Disconnect to Reconnect

After her health scare, Huffington has made it her mission to change the mentality on work-life balance. She realized she needed a larger platform to reach the masses to discuss and practice the importance of self-care, launching Thrive Global, a media brand focusing on wellness, in early 2017.

Huffington argues, along with many studies, that self-care in the long run helps the bottom lines of businesses.

“As studies have clearly shown, there’s a direct connection between employee well-being and the bottom line,” noted Huffington. “Human capital is the most important part of any company. And this applies to all companies, but especially to retail.”

One of the ways Huffington believes everyone can improve their well-being is by disconnecting from work and technology.

“Every day, about 30 minutes before bed, I gently escort my phone out of my bedroom and put it to sleep,” Huffington said during her keynote presentation. “Every time someone is messaging you, you need to react to what someone else needs. We need to take a minute and think ‘what do I need?’”

This is the premise for Thrive Global’s “detox” app, which launched exclusively with Samsung. The app puts your phone in a mode that, when someone is texting or calling while you’re busy, it sends an automatic text saying, “I’m in Thrive Mode right now,” letting your friends and family know that your busy at the moment.

“Who wouldn’t want to be in Thrive Mode?” says Huffington.

Tell us, what are some ways you disconnect in order to reconnect? Send us a note at csullivan@napco.com.