Title: The Unplugged Hours
Author: Hannah Brencher
Series: N/A
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 1/5 stars
The Overview: No matter what you do for a living, how much time your apps save you, or how much entertainment your phone brings, it is possible to unplug–and find an even better life on the other side. In the spring of 2021, Hannah Brencher found herself depleted and exhausted–and she knew the culprit was her constantly plugged-in lifestyle. Like so many of us, Hannah had been turning to her phone to cope with life in a time of isolation and uncertainty. Those coping mechanisms had calcified into habits she didn’t know how to break. Sound familiar? That’s when the nudge happened. Turn off your phone and keep turning off your phone. And a challenge was 1,000 unplugged hours in one year. Soon after she shared her tracker sheet on her website, thousands of people downloaded it and signed up for their own 1,000-hour challenge. Now in The Unplugged Hours, Hannah demonstrates how the act of powering down changed her entire life. It’s a strikingly small thing to do and a surprisingly difficult habit to maintain, but turning off your phone has a substantial impact on your mental health, relationships, time management, and outlook on the world. A powerful weaving of memoir, cultural commentary, and spiritual insights, this life-changing book helps. Reclaim your ability to be present and engaged with the world around youSwap the hurried, constant pace of technology for a steadier, more rooted way of livingEstablish your own unplugged rituals and rhythms in daily lifeUncover the magic within the ordinary awaiting you just beyond the screenThe Unplugged Hours gives you the practical ideas and spiritual inspiration you need to stop scrolling and start living. –Goodreads
The Q&A:
Did you really give The Unplugged Hours a chance?
I think I read about 40% before throwing in the towel. That was more than enough time spent with the book to determine that it wasn’t working for me. I even kept reading several chapters past when I was ready to put it down, just to see if the experience improved.
Have you enjoyed other books in the same genre before?
Yes, I’ve made it a point to consume as many digital minimalism books as I can to help me along in my journey to stay off my phone. In most cases, simply immersing myself into a themed book like this is enough to inspire me to make changes. Unplugged Hours was odd in the sense that I didn’t even get a secondhand glow from reading it. Here are some of the ones I’ve enjoyed more lately:
By far my favorite book on the subject is Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism, which I’ve read half a dozen times. The some of the others are not necessarily about DM per se, but they had a radical effect on making me re-evaluate how I spend my time.
Did you have certain expectations before starting it?
As I mentioned, I expected to feel at least a little inspiration from the book. I also was thinking it would provide a few actionable tidbits, rather than just being a passive narrative. Even non-fiction that don’t work well for me almost always give me at least something to ponder on. Not the case here, for whatever reason.
What ultimately made you stop reading?
I put this down because I realized I wasn’t getting any sort of self improvement “payoff.” It was written in a very creative writing class personal narrative way where it kind of meandered from one experience to another (almost like reading someone’s journal or testimony). My biggest issue was that these reflections were never drawn back to what makes her story relevant to the reader. It could have majorly benefitted from some structure – where an experience was included to illustrated a specific point, which would then be expanded on and highlighted for the reader. As it was, it feels like it was only halfway to where it needed to be to be relevant to anyone but the writer. Maybe some people would’ve been just fine with the casual presentation of the idea (I could only find one) within the book, but because I’ve read so many of these I’ve come to expect a certain level of engagement, which I just didn’t get.
I experienced this on audio and have to say I really struggled with it. The text was delivered in a very choppy, systematic cadence that reminded me most of someone giving a graduation speech or a talk at church. It had planned variation, but very little personality or authentic inflection. It was a struggle to listen to and definitely contributed to my decision to DNF.
Was there anything you liked about The Unplugged Hours?
The author presented a challenge of intentionally choosing to be unplugged for 1000 hours per year (or 100 hours per month, if you prefer) and even provides free trackers on her website: https://hannahbrenchercreative.com/unplugged.
That was pretty cool. And although I didn’t resonate with her at all by how the book was written, the essence of being less connected and more present in one’s life is something I can completely appreciate.
Would you read anything else by this author?
Given that my objections to the book were about the basic writing style, I don’t think I’d favor other works by her over the many others on my TBR.
So you DNF’d the book – would you still recommend it?
Unfortunately, I don’t think so. For actionable inspiration in this subgenre, I’d recommend any of the books in my list above long before I’d suggest this one.
This DNF review format was borrowed with permission from Nikki @ There Were Books Involved (who doesn’t blog anymore, but she still gets all the credit).
Thank you to my Patrons: Dave, Katrin, Frank, Jen, Karen, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Betsy, Eliss, Mike, Elizabeth, Bee, Poochtee, Kinsey, Alysa, Derek, Kelly, Grace, Carmen, and Leticia! <3
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