30 Days of Less Tech

a guided digital detox adventure in using less tech and living more life

University Program Overview

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The Big Idea

A 30-day campus reset that rebuilds focus, learning conditions, and digital wellbeing across students, faculty, and staff.

30 Days of Less Tech is a structured, campus-friendly program that helps people reclaim attention and build realistic norms without shaming technology and without asking for impossible perfection.

On the modern campus, distraction isn’t just a student problem. It’s a learning environment problem. A teaching effectiveness problem. A staff capacity problem.

When attention is constantly pulled into devices, notifications, and rapid context switching, the result is predictable:

  • students struggle to study deeply and retain material

  • faculty lose uninterrupted blocks for prep, grading, and research

  • staff spend their days in reactive loops (email, Teams, Slack, interruptions, meetings)

  • everyone feels busy… yet the most meaningful work takes longer than it should

Let’s talk!

Includes: 90-min kickoff + workbook + weekly touchpoints + 90-min integration/closing

What this program
actually does

This isn’t a lecture about screen time. It’s a behavior-change sprint designed for real academic life.

Over 30 days, participants learn how to:

  • interrupt distraction loops without relying on willpower

  • protect deep focus (study blocks, research blocks, grading blocks, administrative work blocks)

  • reduce interruption-driven work and “always-on” communication pressure

  • design better conditions for learning, teaching, and collaboration

This is a workbook-guided container with a clear beginning, middle, and end, so the change has a chance to stick.

Let’s talk!

Who is this for?

You can run this as a blended cohort or a targeted cohort.
Great fit for:
Student Success, Wellness, Faculty Development, Staff Development/HR, First-Year Experience, Honors, Learning Communities, and department-level initiatives.

Students

  • stronger study focus and follow-through

  • better attention habits in class and during study sessions

  • a realistic system for boundaries and recovery during a semester

Faculty

  • clearer learning norms that improve classroom conditions

  • fewer attention leaks during prep/grading/research time

  • more present teaching (and less cognitive drag)

Staff

  • reduced interruption loops and “reactive day” patterns

  • more effective meetings and communication expectations

  • better capacity for complex work that requires sustained attention

What’s included

30-Day format

1) 90-minute Live Kickoff 

We set the baseline and build momentum:

  • attention audit: where time and focus leak on your campus

  • habit map: the patterns behind “I can’t stop checking.”

  • choose 2-3 friction fixes aligned to your cohort (classrooms, offices, hybrid work)

2) The Workbook 

Participants get a guided workbook with:

  • daily themes + prompts

  • small experiments that fit life

  • simple tracking to make progress visible (without shame)

3) Support Touchpoints 

Designed to keep momentum without creating new meetings:

  • Monday/Wednesday/Friday email prompt (this can be offered as an opt-in for participants)

  • midway live 60-minute AMA (ask me anything)

4) 90-minute Live Integration  

We consolidate and lock in:

  • what worked, what didn’t

  • agreements to carry forward (class norms, meeting norms, communication norms)

  • a “relapse plan” for midterms, finals, crunch periods, and high-stress cycles

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Measurement (simple, useful, not burdensome)

If your campus wants a before/after snapshot, we use lightweight measures:

2-minute pulse (pre + post):

  • focus + overwhelm + recovery habits

  • perceived effectiveness of study/teaching/work blocks

  • confidence in maintaining boundaries

Optional add-ons (depending on program home):

  • classroom or meeting norms adoption checklist

  • self-reported deep focus minutes (baseline vs. week 4)

  • attendance/assignment follow-through (when appropriate)

What changes in 30 days?

This is what participants notice when the program lands well:

🎯 Better learning conditions

Less multitasking creep. More “single-tasking” during class and study.

🎯 Stronger focus stamina

Participants learn how to get back into depth quickly and stay there longer.

🎯 Healthier digital norms

Not “no tech.” More like: intentional tech with clear boundaries, fewer compulsive checks.

🎯 Improved meeting and communication quality

Less noise, clearer expectations, and better decisions (especially for staff teams).

🎯 A shared campus language around attention

So you’re not relying on individual willpower, you’re shifting the culture.

Let’s talk about your campus needs

What this is not

  • Not a moral lecture about phones

  • Not a “ban devices” policy push

  • Not another app or platform

  • Not a high-effort program that creates more work for your team

  • Not a one-off talk that evaporates after the session

This is structured change, designed to fit campus reality.

Implementation options

Pick the version that makes adoption easiest:

  1. Blended Campus Cohort (Students + Faculty + Staff)
    Builds shared norms and a shared language across roles.

  2. Faculty + Staff Cohort
    Best for improving meeting culture, communication expectations, overwhelm, and deep work protection.

  3. Student Success Cohort
    Best for study habits, self-regulation, overwhelm, and learning conditions.

  4. Embedded in a course or program
    Perfect for FYE, Honors, Learning Communities, or a departmental initiative.

Bring this to your school!

How deployment works

  1. Fit call (20 minutes): confirm the audience, goals, and schedule

  2. Kickoff scheduled: we choose the 30-day window

  3. Delivery: kickoff → weekly touchpoints → closing session

  4. Outcome summary: you get a simple before/after snapshot based on agreed measures

Most programs can launch within 2-3 weeks of scheduling.

Schedule a call!

Digital Wellbeing Gallery

What participants say:

  • “For the first time in years, I felt as if I had finally been unchained… The hold that these apps had on me was finally released.”

  • “I was just letting myself be bored until I wasn’t anymore… I genuinely haven’t done that in years.”

  • “The first time I went on social media after the detox week was over, I was only on Instagram for a few minutes because I quickly got bored with it. I thought to myself, ‘What’s the point?’”

  • “For the first time in a long time, my brain felt very quiet… my brain wasn’t buzzing like it normally is.”

  • “I felt extremely productive and not distracted… The time flew.”

  • “I was able to fully immerse myself in the moment… an amazing feeling.”

  • “I’ve been feeling much more productive and overall feeling mentally lighter.”

  • “It resulted in an 18% increase in my daily sleep duration and improved productivity during the day.”

  • “This week, I saved an average of 2 hours and 45 minutes by not scrolling.”

  • “I… reduced my average screen time from over 5 hours to just over 3 hours.”

  • “I succeeded in not using TikTok at all… only spent 22 total minutes on Instagram… and did not scroll through any reels.”

  • “I began to focus more on tasks and multitasked less… amazing to see how much focused work I was doing.”

  • “I could remember more details since I was distracted less.”

  • “When I was around my friends and doing activities I loved, I didn’t miss social media one bit!”

  • “I’ve set a daily time limit… and I’ll always remember that big tech benefits most when I scroll.”

  • “I also had an overall sense of positivity about myself and my life… because I didn’t have the opportunity to compare…”

  • “Initially, I felt a strong sense of FOMO… the detox made me anxious… However… I focused on being productive…”

  • “Deleting these apps has made me feel mentally lighter. I no longer rely on social media to fill downtime.”

  • “After deleting the app, I still found myself trying to open it unconsciously. It made me see how automatic my habits had become.”

  • “Although my detox is over… this is only the start of my journey… I can only hope it’s away from a screen.”

Frequently Asked Questions

  • 📵 Expert in Digital Well-being & Focus Strategies: Helping people break free from tech overload
    🧠 Science-Backed Approach: Grounded in neuroscience, mindfulness, and behavior design
    🔥 Engaging, Interactive, & Actionable: More than theory. You’ll leave with a real plan
    🚀 Custom-Tailored for Teams & Individuals: Designed to fit your digital habits & challenges
    💡 Results-Driven Transformation: Helping people reclaim time, energy, and creativity

  • Pattie Belle is a fierce advocate for human creativity, problem-solving, and innovation. She believes that every individual and team holds an untapped well of ingenuity—they just need the right tools and mindset to unlock it.

    With decades of experience in creative strategy, facilitation, and Design Thinking, she is passionate about helping organizations break through stagnation, embrace uncertainty, and turn obstacles into opportunities.

    Her mission? To empower leaders and teams to think differently, solve better, and create a future where innovation is not just a buzzword—but a way of working and thriving.

About Pattie Belle

  • Technology was designed to make us more connected, efficient, and productive—but today, constant notifications, digital overload, and screen addiction are costing businesses billions in lost productivity, engagement, and well-being.

    📊 Harvard Business Review found that employees who manage digital distractions effectively are 47% more productive.
    📊 Deloitte reports that digital overload contributes to $190 billion in lost productivity and $300 billion in stress-related health costs each year.
    📊 A study by RescueTime found that the average employee spends 2.5 hours per day on distractions, costing businesses an estimated $10,375 per employee per year.

    What would a 10-20% increase in productivity, retention, and engagement mean for your company?

  • A Technology Detox helps organizations:
    Reduce digital distractions & reclaim focus: Increase deep work & meaningful output
    Improve employee well-being & engagement: Decrease stress, burnout & digital fatigue
    Boost productivity & efficiency: Eliminate wasted hours lost to mindless screen time
    Enhance work-life balance: Support healthier digital habits for teams and individuals
    Foster a culture of mindfulness & intentional tech use: Drive long-term behavior change

    🧘 The bottom line? Businesses that prioritize digital well-being create more engaged, focused, and high-performing teams—and see measurable gains in productivity, retention, and innovation.

  • 😌 47% More Productivity → Reduce distractions & increase deep work time
    😌 Lower Burnout & Stress → Create a healthier, happier workforce
    😌 Faster, More Effective Communication → Eliminate wasted emails & unnecessary meetings
    😌 Stronger Focus & Creativity → Help employees regain mental clarity & cognitive function
    😌 Higher Retention & Engagement → Employees stay longer when they feel balanced & in control

  • Absolutely! Each of these workshops can be delivered as a dynamic keynote or engaging talk, designed to inspire, educate, and spark action in your audience. Whether it’s a conference, corporate event, leadership retreat, or team offsite, Pattie Belle delivers high-energy, thought-provoking presentations that blend storytelling, audience interaction, and practical strategies to create immediate impact. Keynotes can range from 30 to 90 minutes and can be customized to fit your event’s theme, audience, and goals. If you’re looking for a memorable, insightful, and transformative talk, let’s craft the perfect experience for your group!

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