Why Successful Women Are Scheduling Screen-Free Time
As the founder of a PR firm, Mia Hadrill spends a huge proportion of her life online. Her daily routine revolves around a relentless stream of emails, news alerts, video calls, social media updates, and cross-time-zone client coordination. In her world, round-the-clock instant communication often feels non-negotiable.
For many founders, especially women, permanent availability is still held up as a badge of honour and a proxy for success. Yet Mia believes this hyper-connectivity is a standard no one should aspire to. Instead, she has observed that the women building the most sustainable careers right now are doing something almost radical: they are deliberately scheduling time to be completely unreachable.
“This realisation came naturally to me,” she says. “When I first launched Aim Agency, I was simultaneously co-founding another project close to my heart: Aim Wild, an off-grid retreat hidden in the Welsh wilderness. There, guests arrive to discover no phone signal, no Wi-Fi, no television, no light pollution, and – for a long time – not even hot water. It was no accident that I was drawn to building a sanctuary for disconnect while working in an industry that relies heavily on being plugged in.” Mia says she recognised early on that without taking time away from screens, the opportunity for big, creative thinking simply vanishes.
In fact, none of the most consequential business decisions Mia has ever made occurred while sitting at a desk. “Deliberate time away has become my secret weapon for problem-solving,” she says. “Whether I am walking through the Welsh hills far from the ping of notifications, unwinding in an evening sound bath, or focusing on my breathing during a swim, my clearest and most profound solutions float to the surface only when my mind slows down enough to connect distant concepts.”
Mia says that leaders must stop viewing these moments as time away from work, because they are, in reality, the most critical work of all.
“Clients don’t come to us because we answer emails quickly. They come to us because they trust our expertise. The quality of our advice depends entirely on the quality of our attention.”
While she accepts that being a founder means team members will occasionally reach out during holidays, watching her own physical reaction – and seeing how quickly work pulls her out of a moment of peace – underscored the value of a true digital detox. Creating spaces where she is genuinely forced to disconnect allows her to recharge.
She asays: “That philosophy extends directly to my team. When employees take annual leave, I explicitly discourage them from checking Slack from the beach or answering emails between family dinners. I know they will return sharper, happier, and far more creative if they aren’t half-working through their time off. Rest isn’t a reward; it is a prerequisite for doing exceptional work.”
Over time, Mia has come to see switching off as a core leadership skill. If a founder constantly checks their phone in meetings, that behaviour becomes the implicit standard for everyone else.
The broader conversation around digital detoxes has evolved significantly. Once gently mocked as an indulgence for wellness retreats, screen-free time is now being actively scheduled by ambitious women as part of their daily routines – whether through tech-free mornings, in-person clubs, or strictly protected Sundays.
While Mia says she is grateful for how technology and AI are driving efficiency across the PR industry, she be;ieves that as technology advances, uniquely human qualities – judgment, creativity, empathy, and original thinking – become infinitely more valuable.
“These qualities don’t thrive on endless information consumption; they flourish in moments of stillness.
“Ultimately, the most successful leaders aren’t stepping away from their screens because their drive is fading. They are doing it because they realise their attention is their most valuable asset. Sometimes, the best investment a leader can make in their business isn’t another meeting or productivity hack. it’s simply giving their mind enough quiet to hear itself think.”
- Mia Hadrill is Founder & CEO at Aim Agency, Aim Plastic Free and Co-Founder, Aim Wild
