The story behind 24/six
Hi, I’m Kerry Watkins.
I didn’t grow up in an ultra connected 24/7 world.
My childhood was filled with climbing trees, riding bikes, and being completely uncontactable when I was out. If I wanted to see my friends, I had to walk to their house and knock on the door - old school social networking. No smartphones. No endless notifications. The only thing that ran out of juice were the batteries in my Walkman. Honestly, my idea of being tech-savvy back then was making the perfect mixtape by recording songs off the radio, timing it just right to avoid the DJ’s chat. (Showing my age here but if you know, you know.)
Fast forward to adulthood and, like everyone else, I now live a life that couldn’t function without tech. And honestly, I love it. Technology means I get to run my social media agency, Social for Good, and manage a team from anywhere in the world.
Flexible working? Yes, please. Bingeing an entire season of Yellowjackets in one weekend? Absolutely. Access to all the information I could ever need? Incredible.
But let’s be honest… it hasn’t all been smooth scrolling. Running a social media agency means spending a lot of time on social media, email, Zoom calls, and juggling a multitude of digital tools daily. A few years ago, my brain was running in top gear all day - like having a hundred tabs open with none of them responding.
By the time I got home, I was exhausted, yet I’d still pick up my phone mindlessly and lose hours scrolling. It felt like an endless, repeating cycle. Too easy to check Slack and email at home, leaving little room to fully switch off. Unsurprisingly, feelings of burnout soon followed.
As I juggled these challenges, I started thinking more deeply about my own relationship with technology, especially as a parent to a teenage daughter. What example was I setting? Who was really in control here? How do we take advantage of digital tools and devices but also protect our wellbeing? How do we make it work for us rather than it running the show?
Curious and determined to figure it out, I dove into studying digital wellbeing. My brain practically exploded (in a good way) as I uncovered fascinating research on neuroscience, tech design, and behaviour change theory.
The more I learned, the more it all started making sense. But it wasn’t just theory; I needed to see how this worked in practice.
That’s when I tried my first digital detox.
Three days with no tech in Catalunya - immersed in nature, reading, journaling and having deep conversations with others on the retreat, left me with what I can only describe as a sparkly brain.
Creative ideas flowed. I felt energised, calm, clear, and finally back in myself. I felt like Super Kerry. And, unsurprisingly, I didn’t want it to end.
It turns out, digital balance isn’t something you figure out after one retreat. Life has a way of pulling you back in with notifications pinging, emails stacking up, and mindless scrolling sneaking back into the routine. It’s all too easy to slip into old habits.
I realised I needed more than one weekend offline to truly shift my relationship with tech and build habits that would stick.
So, a few months later, I tried another digital detox. This second retreat in Sardinia reinforced just how powerful these breaks could be and how establishing a healthy relationship with tech is about flipping the power balance. Designing a life where tech plays a supporting role, not the lead. And willpower alone isn’t enough. Our devices are designed to keep us hooked.
Maintaining a healthier relationship takes ongoing awareness, practical strategies, and a whole lot of intention.
In 2023, two years after I began studying digital wellbeing, my team and I introduced a four-day workweek at Social for Good.
It wasn’t an easy shift, but the experience from those digital detoxes definitely played a part. They highlighted the value of creating space for focus and downtime - insights we carried into the workplace.
We adopted practical habits that help us stay productive, keep our brains fresh and creative, and not only get everything done in four days instead of five - but do it better. In fact, the business has grown year on year, exceeding our targets.
And that’s how 24/six was born. Because a healthy relationship with technology spans both work and home life.
Our relationship with tech is complex and personal - what works for one person might not work for another. That’s why 24/six offers a flexible, supportive approach that helps you reset, refocus, and reconnect with yourself, others, and the things that truly matter.
No judgment. No guilt. Just a chance to find a balance and make technology work for you, not the other way around.
(No need to live off-grid or start foraging for berries - unless that’s your thing.)