Today’s post is a guest post by Jesse Langley.  Jesse is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in consumer technology.  He writes on behalf of Colorado Technical University.

Conventional wisdom says the first step on the road to recovery is to admit you have a problem.  So, here goes: my name is Jesse, and I’m a techie addict.  I came to that realization when I did a quick inventory of my daily routine:

The first thing I did when I woke up in the morning—after silencing the alarm on my smartphone—was check my e-mail.  Then I browsed my Google Reader feed to see if there were any stories I missed the night before.  After my shower—but before getting dressed and doing my makeup and hair—I powered up my laptop to browse my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  On the way to work I fit my Bluetooth earpiece into place and listened to Morning Edition on NPR from my smartphone, since fiddling with the radio is too much of a distraction.

After a day of staring at my laptop screen at work, my free time was still full of gadgets.  On evenings I didn’t devote to blogging or Tweeting, I came home and unwound by watching a movie on Netflix or curling up with a good book on my Kindle.  Once I was ready for bed, I set the alarm on my phone, checked my reader feed one last time and drifted off to the sounds of an Audible audiobook.

There’s something seriously wrong with that routine.  At no point in my day was I disconnected from the Internet via some sort of device.  Even my daily interactions with friends and family were dominated by texts and Facebook wall posts.  Something had to give, so I decided to do something radical: I restricted my access to the Matrix and started living life in the physical world.

Disconnect from your phone

We use our smartphones to shop, tweet, text, and to download music, but it’s becoming rare to use them to actually call people and talk to them.  It’s passé to use the phone for anything other than emergencies.  While the trend is gaining popularity, it robs our daily interactions of significance and familiarity.  Learn to use your phone as a phone again: call close friends and family instead of texting them.

Also, keep your phone on a table or on a shelf where you can access it if it rings—but not right at hand.  Phones have become like security blankets, and a misplaced phone can cause real anxiety.  You don’t need to have your phone on you at all times.  And for goodness sake, buy a real alarm clock so you don’t rely on your phone as an alarm.

Set limits and get out

The Internet is my most important tool, for work and the grad school program I’m enrolled in.  I used to come home and browse the Net for hours or get lost in tweeting back and forth with cyber friends, and before I knew it, I’d blown past my bedtime.  Putting limits on the times I use the Internet forced me to tend to the other, more important tasks that piled up throughout my day; it also made me think about how much time I spent interacting in the virtual world.

Another way to detox: get real face time with your friends and family.  Instead of using a Google+ Hangout, actually hang out with your friends at a restaurant or at your place.  Friendship, after all, used to be a full-contact sport—going out and doing things is still an option.

These two steps are just part of my tech detox plan, but they’re a good way to start if your own virtual life is taking over your actual life.  Do what you can to put boundaries on your interaction with your gadgets, and learn to live without being tethered to tech.