We're plugged in 24 hours a day now. We're all part of one big machine, whether we are conscious of that or not. And if we can't unplug from that machine, eventually we're going to become mindless.
Music can be useful during training to help get you psyched, and I still listen to music on easy climbs or in the gym. But during cutting-edge solos or really hard climbs, I unplug. There shouldn't be a need for extra motivation on big days, be it music or anything else. It should come from within.
For me, if I didn't have reading I'd go absolutely crazy. It really helps me to unplug from the whole world, and keep my sanity, and be able to fill my time with something other than technology.
When I'm with my parents, that's the place I can unplug. That's the place I can shut down and not worry about work or what's going on. I go home and hang out with them. I sleep more there than any place else ever.
There is a part of me that still wants to go out and grab a backpack and unplug - not take a cellphone or even a camera and just get out there and experience the world and travel. I have yet to do that, but someday I hope.
This year, I had some downtime before my Australia tour and spent a week or so in Phuket, Thailand. As a confessed workaholic, sometimes it's good to unplug and detach and honestly, the scenery, the weather and the people truly made this an incredible place for me to recharge.
The biggest thing I try to do is to unplug and give myself time away from social media and the Internet.
There'll come a writing phase where you have to defend the time, unplug the phone and put in the hours to get it done.
If the point of an activity is to be relaxing, changing that point to money isn't a great idea. Then you have to show up for it differently, and that can take the fun out of it, absolutely. I'm a big fan of turning your hobbies into businesses, but not if it's the hobby you do to relax and unplug.
As a mom, spending quality time on the water with my family is a simple and relaxing way to unplug.
