It’s simple. The purpose of National Day of Unplugging is to tune into the world around you for 24 hours.

Connect with friends & family!

Sign the pledge here – Nationaldayofunplugging.com

This coming Friday, March 7, 2014 is the National Day of Unplugging. It is a day to tune out of electronic connections and tune into the world around you for 24 hours. If you want to participate and unplug for 24 hours, you can sign a pledge, which you can find on nationaldayofunplugging.com. You can also post a picture of what you are pledging to do when you unplug.

I just read an article in Oprah’s O Magazine titled, Just Say Hello: The Powerful New Way to Combat Loneliness. The article highlighted the point that even though people are connected through social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat and other tools, they are feeling more disconnected and lonely because they are connecting less emotionally and physically with other people. They are not looking up from their smart phone or computer, they are hiding behind it, or using it to “Like” something, but they are not actually connecting with people on a deeper level by sharing thoughts and feelings with others. Being socially connected and sharing thoughts and feelings requires a real connection, looking someone in the eye, hearing their voice. This kind of connection can lead to several benefits, according to a Purdue Study (GO Boilermakers!!!). These benefits include living longer, feeling pain less, and having better health because you get sick less.

For the National Day of Unplugging, I’m going to unplug to connect with friends and family. More specifically, I am going to connect with women aviators, as March 7th also happens to be a day to celebrate women aviators. You can see the speaking event that I’ll be attending on this flyer. One of my best friends, Graciela Tiscareno-Sato, is speaking on a panel about her experiences as an aviator – she spent 10 years in the Air Force flying KC135 refueling tanker jets. Another friend, Gretchen Kelly, is also speaking on the panel and she is the Airport Division Manager for San Mateo County Airports. It’s great when two of your worlds (college and kids’ school) collide to connect others! If you want to celebrate women aviators and introduce a girl to the world of flying – reserve your spot here.

I’m also going to spend some time outside. The weather has been incredible lately, despite the rain, and I’ve been trying to spend more time outside to enjoy it. I’ve planned a hike that day at lunchtime and will include other friends on the hike so that we can have some good time outside in nature.

I plan to use the phone rather than email, Facebook, IMs or other electronic systems.

Let me know if you are participating too or if you want to join me on the hike!