As an advisor to many CEOs of Fortune 500 companies over the years, I've found a common thread that might surprise you: CEOs work hard but they also know how to recharge faster and better. Just like in fitness, recovery is a key part of exertion. At work, learning to micro-relax better can increase energy, productivity and, quite frankly, joy.
Last Friday night, close to a hundred of us gathered around candle-lit picnic blankets with a makeshift stage at the head of the grass. We know, that's probably not your idea of a typical night at Tompkins Square Park in downtown Manhattan - but it's safe to say we did something a bit ... different. We got off together. Off the apps, that is; after a big countdown, we deleted our accounts to digital platforms that we've simply had enough of.
"I think I'm going to get into beading," I said to my husband as we sat on the couch together in the post-bedtime slump. After we get our 4-year-old to bed, sometimes with a fight, we crash in the living room together and just enjoy the sound of silence. In telling him, I was mostly preparing him for the number of packages that were about to arrive in the mail bearing beads, tiny pliers, and little gold doodads.
The HMD Touch 4G offers a thoughtful middle ground by reimagining what a phone can be when stripped of unnecessary complexity. This compact, Nokia-inspired feature phone provides essential modern connectivity through 4G data, video calling, and cloud apps, while maintaining the focused simplicity that made classic phones so appealing for actual communication rather than endless scrolling. Designer: HMD The design immediately evokes nostalgia with its candybar form factor and minimalist curves that feel borrowed from Nokia's golden era of feature phones.
"Even if it gives us rabies, we will free the iPad babies!" the crowdofmostly young people chanted. They donned colored folders fashioned into pointy hats inspired by gnomes, a symbol for the rally due to the mythical creatures' earthy, non-digital aesthetic. Each hat contained a printed note taped inside criticizing things like AI data centers and inviting people to join "the Luddite Renaissance."
This product is designed to facilitate a gentle disengagement from devices, making the process feel like a welcome respite rather than a forced separation.
Escaping the screen isn't easy. When I tested the Light Phone III in March-a phone designed to strip away apps and focus on the basics-I quickly found how many little things I needed my smartphone for, from accessing my home's security cameras to authentication apps so I could sign in to web services on my laptop.
At one point, Rylan and Emma were joined by broadcaster Gyles Brandreth for a discussion about digital detoxing... This is called barebacking for Gen-Z.