Phone Free February . . . . Breakingup with my phone
If you’ve been around for any time you have read earlier posts and writing about my love/hate relationship with my phone. At seems that everything these days either comes from or is connected to our phones. While I know I, or we, cannot completely put the Genie back in the bottle, I know I need to get a better handle one where I get my information, my inspiration, my connection and take back so much time, attention and focus.
I am admitting that I overconsume on Instagram. It is an easy distraction when I find myself not wanting to make a decision, am bored, want a distraction from a work issue, or just want to “check in” with my Instagram friends. For a while now, I have had the time limit on my Instagram set for 30 minutes, but do you know how easy it is to override that time limit? Right. Far too easy! While our phones make our lives so much easier and allow us to be reachable at all times - it allow us to be reachable at all times. And not just by our children, but by any and everyone who wants to send a notification, disturbs us with a spam call, promote a sale or send an email requesting help with a work issue - we are now reachable by any and everyone during what used to understood as “non-work hours”. I know when I was growing up, it was unheard of for the phone to ring before 9 am or after 9 pm. Folks just knew to leave people alone at those hours. . .
Basically, these days, we are reachable 24/7 and have been forced to become “on” 24/7. This is not normal, friends. We were not made to be on alert and on at all hours of the day.
Because of all of this, my phone has become a huge source of an undercurrent of stress. I feel the pull to check email - whether it is personal or work - I can easily go down a rabbit hole and when I come up I am much less at peace and usually have a whole lot of angst. And, speaking of rabbit holes, I know I am not the only one who unintentionally disappears for what is meant to be a five minute “check in” but ends up being a 30 minute plus blot of time that simply disappeared. What became of it? I know that usually, I honestly cannot say. At my age, all of my time is precious and I can’t afford to lose myself and my time in ridiculous, draining time suck rabbit holes.
There is so much to say on this topic and I know I’m not telling you anything that you likely haven’t considered yourself. In fact, you may be doing a much better job at unplugging and soaking in the present life where you are.
In my own effort to live a more intentional life and simplify my days - and actually grab hold of all of my precious minutes and hours - I am doubling down on distancing myself from my phone this month.
What does that mean?
It can mean different things for all of us. When reading The Unplugged Hours by Hannah Brencher, she discussed how this can mean different things for different people. She kept track of the hours she was completely unplugged from her phone and tracked 1000 hours during a year. She actually turned off her phone, put it in a box and that was how she unplugged. While I love this for her, my schedule and work are too closely tied to my phone to allow me to actually turn it off during the work day. My work direct line actually goes straight to my phone, so you see the dilemma. Therefore, my own definition of being unplugged is more focused on social media and non-work related phone use AND setting boundaries around when I am being available for work emails and phone calls outside of the actual work hours (when possible).
In an effort to curb my dang habit of “checking in” I’ve also considered buying one of the blockers, like Brick, but since I am also doing a no-buy January and February (I’m totally making myself even more miserable during the coldest, darkest months, right?) , I’ve had to come up with another solution curb my “check in”, “one more thing, one more email, one more DM, one more website check, Amazon review” and on and on.
Since we will never go back to a landline, and our phones ARE such a big part of our lives, I am trying to take some of that back and create more space away from the constant pull - time we could be doing much more fun and interesting things than scrolling, like - creating, learning, reading something new, playing Mahjong, talking to the person next to you with real eye contact or shockingly, remembering what a gift it is to be bored.
So, here are my small steps to break up with my phone this month -
I got an actual alarm clock to put by my bed. I got this one off of Amazon for all of $15 and I honestly like the look. It also has a dimmer so the light does not keep me up at night. This way I no longer use my phone as my alarm, so there is absolutely no reason to have it by my bed. My phone now sits across the room - all of seven steps away - so it is NOT the first thing I reach for in the morning, (so I now do my reading before checking my phone) and it keeps me from scrolling at bedtime (and again reading a book instead).
Keeping track. I am keeping track of how much time I am spending NOT on my phone. Hannah Brencher challenged 1000 hours of unplugged time in a year. That’s a bit ambitious so I am starting this month by just keeping track to measure and, hopefully, continue to reduce my time being distracted. I printed THIS Calendar for the month. For each day I will fill in HOW long I am on my phone in any form of “checking in” or “rabbit hole”.
I took the hours we have in a day - 24 Total Hours. I broke it up into potential phone hours and definite off hours. It looks like this;
Wake - 1 pm (7 hours)
1 pm - 6 pm (5 hours)
6 pm - 10 pm (4 hours)
________________
Potential Phone Time - 16 hours
Off Time - 8 hours.
I am hoping I will not be shocked at the hours eaten away in the potential phone time! I admit that oftentimes my phone will give that summary report on daily/weekly use and I can be so ashamed that so much time has gone into a device! You may find a better system and I’d love to hear.
Now What? I’m not sure but I am hoping to really realize where my time goes and to take back that wasted “scrolling” time. I know we all have the same hours in a day, but somehow I have felt time squeezed lately and have been resenting that feeling. I’ve resented not having the time to do things I want to do, to write this newsletter, finish a painting project that’s sitting on my easel, clean out the closet in my garage, plan the trip, stretch more, take the after-dinner walk, learn to throw pottery, ALL THE THINGS. You get my point. But mainly, to be more present. To sit here with my dogs without a phone in my hand or the pull to “check in” with work, or my Instagram friends, or be “influenced”, or look at one more email.
Bundle up and stay warm!! And Boooo to Punxsutawney Phil!
