A Day Without the iPhone
Well, half a day, really.
[Yesterday, I wrote][1] about how I took a week off of wearing my Apple Watch, to see what it would be like to pry myself away from the technology that rules my life. While I was writing that, I had the idea to toss my iPhone in a drawer for a whole day.
I tried that out this morning. I put my phone in the drawer until noon, at which point I figured I'd check my messages and such for about ten minutes and then put it back for the rest of the day.
Well, I didn't put it back. I dove back in to what I normally do when my phone is ever by my side: bounce around the various apps that I've cleverly gathered in a "Distractions" folder, and listen to podcasts (also did a little Wikipedia binging).
Okay, fine. I'm not surprised it wasn't easy to stay away. Observations about the morning, though:
- It felt good to not feel like I always needed sound in my ears or a screen before my eyes in order to be okay.
- There were indeed many moments where I felt at loose ends because... what was I going to do if not look at my phone? The temptation was to fiddle around on my Mac, or, what I also did a bit of today, read a paperback book, which is a nice change of pace (I read a fair amount, but it's almost always on my phone).
In yesterday's article I talked about keeping my watch, and I will say that having the watch does make me feel better leaving my phone at home when I go out—at least there's still, you know, something. I don't know why that should feel important; further analysis required.
I'd like to get in the habit of taking my nice long walks without my phone. Without headphones, without music, without a podcast, just me and the world.
Maybe I can learn to fill those empty moments where I would otherwise check my phone with creative pursuits. More writing. More thinking. Imagine that!
[1]: {% post_url 2020-03-15-a-week-without-the-apple-watch %}