how to break up with your phone — 30 day challenge [day5]

Day 5

You know when it’s time to break up but you wish there was a baby step to assuage the pain? Yeah, that’s today. It’s delete day. Good bye, social media.

In particular, social media apps downloaded from the app store. We’re not completely broken up — just yet. You can still use your browser to check Facebook messages or IG. Pay me to delete my social presence and I’ll tell you it’s not enough!

If you’re new to this series, I’m one week into Catherine Price’s 30 day program building a better relationship with your digital friend. The results have been more eye opening than substantial. There’s proof is in the pudding and I downloaded the pudding day one to track my phone usage.

Below are my statistics of when I unlocked my phone and usage this past week. They’re a true reflection of my who I am and proves day 3 was a complete fluke.

this is me..

this is my normal use — totally!

I never said I was perfect.

Also, yikes…

You can give yourself credit when it’s due. Like digging out food between your teeth with your tongue. Or when you finish college. But when you overshoot your guess on phone usage and discover you’re correct, face palming into your pillow isn’t enough.

So yes, I’m a phone addict. If you’re still reading, you can relate. Separation anxiety when your phone isn’t in your pocket during a meeting (where it fucking belongs). Hours passing by after work sitting on your sofa browsing on your phone. Time flying by.

If you’re following the program with me, here’s todays to do:

Build a speed bump. Anything — tie a rubber band around your phone or take a picture of a note and set it as a screensaver with the words: WWW.

WWW — what for; why now; what else — Catherine Price

Basically anything to give yourself a second to reflect why you reached for your phone. I liken this to Viktor Frankl’s idea in Man’s Search for Meaning on reason. Say your mom makes you go to the doctors. You don’t want to go to the doctors. It hurts. She continues yelling at you. What do you do?

That split second between laying the verbal smackdown on mom and calmly agreeing on a future appointment is true reason. It’s the mindfulness to know the greater good is in play (your health and mom’s sanity). The same is true with your relationship to your phone.

WWW gives you a moment to rationalize your decision to use your phone. Further more, it helps you slowly build an identity with it. Studies show stating: I go to the gym as opposed to I have to go to the gym play a substantial role in your identity with the gym. The same goes can go with your phone after deleting the apps off your phone.

After you rid the apps, say it with me: I do not have social media apps on my phone.