Phone-Free Fridays

 

I’ve threatened to toss my smartphone out the window. More than once. Of course, I’ve never done it, because I seriously doubt I could live without it. Which makes me worry.

How have I become so dependent on this “thing”? I didn’t grow up with smartphones. I can still recall rolling up to my college campus with a bag phone plugged into my car’s cigarette lighter. (Wow, I just realized how old that makes me sound!)

But truly, I can still remember what life was like B.S. (Before Smartphones). And while I enjoy a lot of what they bring to table – like the fact that I can now drive myself anywhere in the world without getting lost…AND my phone marks my car with a pin so I can wander away and still find it again! – I also realize how anxious I am when it’s by my side. And it’s always by my side. Why? Because I’m even more anxious when it’s not.

Which is why I decided that perhaps it would be better for me to curb my separation anxiety than to remain hyper-alert to the half-million times a day my phone flashes a notification. Who knew – smartphones are the ultimate “flashy thingies”? (Sorry – MIB joke.)

Last week I posted to social media that I was planning a “phone-free Friday”. The crowd was split almost exactly down the middle. Half of “my people” feeling my pain, cheering me on and saying they’d join me and the other half feeling my pain but declaring me insane, vowing things like “can’t be done”, “why would you” and “I can’t even”.

Well, I can. And I did.

I woke up Friday morning with my phone by my side, and since it was exactly o’dark thirty and I hadn’t had coffee yet, I grabbed it and headed for the kitchen and caffeine. Poured my cup, took a sip, looked at what I’ve come to know as an added appendage to my hand and realized – it’s Phone-Free Friday!! I didn’t even hesitate. I powered that sucker down, tossed it back on my nightstand and went back to my coffee. Immediately, it was like a weight had been lifted. I spent my pre-work hours without social media. Without Candy Crush. (My guilty pleasure. Please don’t judge). I didn’t check the weather, my bank accounts, or my emails.

I took my coffee out on the patio and watched the sun come up. I listened to the birds. I watched the squirrels and my neighbor’s dog run around in circles. I did my yoga and weights. I meditated, showered and went to my office. My phone stayed home.

While I worked on projects that needed my attention, I was blissfully unaware of phone calls, emails and text messages. I went on for hours, uninterrupted by notifications, alerts and alarms. I was forced to write down my meetings for the day and had to keep track of my own time and schedule to ensure I got to my meeting on time.

When I left work to run errands, I had to remember how to get everywhere I was going (I still feel new in town, so sometimes I still map my way to places I’m going locally). I did miss my customized Pandora app BUT I did get to listen to the radio for the first time in years. When I got to the store, I had to whip out an old school, on paper, shopping list…which I hoped contained everything I was supposed to shop for. Relying on my memory is something I realize I’ve gotten away from.

It felt really good to rely on myself. I was forced to plan ahead, to think through my day from the beginning. It required me to slow down, to be more mindful, to work harder to remember things.

By the end of the day I realized I’d had a very, VERY good day. Sure, I missed a call from a prospective new client and emails weren’t returned with my normal swiftness. But I didn’t care. And the beauty was, neither did they; it all got caught up eventually. My stress and anxiety level was lower. My productivity increased due to so few interruptions. And I felt really proud of myself.

Living like it’s 1999 feels like my jam! I know I can’t do this every day. I’m a mom of people still navigating adulting. (Aren’t we all??) I’m the daughter of an octogenarian. I’m a business owner. I’m not planning to go off-grid.

But.

I do realize the world won’t end if I don’t have my phone by my side 24/7. Quite the opposite – the world continues without my smartphone and my life is enhanced both by its existence and my ability to not NEED it.

Phone-free Friday really is freeing! All those hours I spent charging up that darn thing! No one told me I needed to unplug it so that I could re-charge me. And now I know.