I spent one week “phone-less”, here’s how it went…
The week of January 3–9, I decided to power off and put away my phone.
Why, you might ask?
Well with online learning, I’ve been spending far more time on screens, and I needed to eliminate the unnecessary use to focus on reality, not a virtual reality. I felt like I wasn’t really living and enjoying my life, but rather letting the days role by until summer ☀️.
I didn’t realize this until I had a chat with my grandma where she was telling me about all her memories as if it was yesterday and I that’s when I really recognized how fast time flies. I thought about how once a moment is over, you’re not going to get that time back. This inspired me to stop procrastinating my peace of mind and happiness due to external circumstances, and rather to enjoy life now 🦋.
Putting my phone away was a step to doing this because it was what was holding me back from enjoying real life, and being present to choose how I wanted to feel.
I think about my mind as a garden and I have the choice to plant different things, that will grow different results. For example, exercising reaps positive results, whereas my phone is more of a weed; taking up space in my mind, and not adding any value. My intention behind putting away my phone was to remove this weed so I can plant better things, and enjoy my life so much more.
So, now for the juicy stuff… 😉
What did I learn from this experience?
The biggest thing that stood out to me was the stillness. With my phone, my mind was always occupied, but without that distraction, everything was still. There was moments of silence, and it made everything far less overwhelming. I’m always pretty busy but without the extra “noise” and distraction, filling up my mind, everything on my to-do list felt far more attainable and I got a lot more accomplished; resulting in less anxiety.
I was living in the present so much more, and I felt like I had my life together because I could consciously decide what thoughts I wanted to focus on. When I had my phone, I was living by default; being unhappy with the current covid circumstances rather than actively choosing to stay positive despite external circumstances, and this is what being phone-less really taught me to do. I grew more in discipline, mindfulness, and learned the power of choice. In each moment, with every breath we have a choice. My phone took away that power of choice, because I was never still to consciously choose.
Action Item: When you feel the urge to grab your phone, don’t. Recognize it, and choose the opposite behaviour.
I have to admit though, I was very hesitant to put away my phone. Mostly because I was worried I would run into many challenges without a phone, because of the tools my phone provided me with.
I was wrong.
For example…
Ex.1 — Q: “I need to stay updated through social media.”
A: No, I wanted to stay updated, even though the updates added no value to my life.
Ex. 2 — Q: “How am I going to be able to talk to my friends?”
A: The answer was simple. Just text them through my computer.
Ex. 3 — Q: “How am I going to be able to stay caught up on what’s happening in the world?”
A: Google it. Instead of using social media as my main news source, use the actual news, and read articles online.
After debunking all these doubts and concerns I had about being phone-less, I noticed the root of my questioning switch from…
“what can I do without my phone?” → “what can my phone do for me?
I went from a perspective of dependancy on my phone, to a perspective of using my phone as a tool to help me. If it’s not serving me or helping me, I don’t need it in my garden 🪴.
Needless to say, the value I got out of being phone-less didn’t happen without any challenges….
The first day wasn’t too bad, and I didn’t miss my phone much, but the second day is where I was really challenged. For a long time, I subconsciously used my phone to numb uncomfortable feelings, and I became dependent on it; Therefore, it was really difficult for me to be present amidst negative emotions or thoughts.
I had to learn how to cope with these feelings rather than avioiding them. The way I did this was through creating a mental process which included 5 steps:
1. Take a deep loooonnnggg breath
2. Recognize it. How am I feeling? Try to give it a label (ex. right now I’m feeling overwhelmed)
3. Sit with the feeling. Don’t try and push it away. Stay present in the moment and remember it’s not a threat.
4. Choose. What am I going to do now? Do I want to feel better? If so, what’s something that’s going to make me feel better?
5. Do that thing. If reading helps, do that 📚. It can even be something such as sitting with the feeling for longer.
Doing this mental process was difficult short term, but I know will be so worth it, long term 🙌.
Conclusion
I thought that without my phone, I would be missing out, but in reality, I gained so much more!
So if theres anything I want you to take away from this article, it’s this:
Put your phone down. You don’t need it. Seriously.
It’s nothing crazy, you didn’t just read the most eye-opening sentence of your life, but take this to heart, and do it. It doesn’t have to be forever, not even for a week. Start small, and create that detachment from your phone. It’s so worth it. Trust me.
Next step: flip phone 😉
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