Well, half a day, really.

Yesterday, I wrote 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!