I never realized how much I use my phone until I turned it off tonight. Not only did I take a nap, but I also cleaned my apartment. Not only was I tired, but I also felt good about myself and my life.
I don’t have any great stories about me turning off my phone, but I have a few that are more personal. Like yesterday, I made plans to go to a book store and get something new out of my hands. There was a line of people ahead of me (and behind me), and when I got to the front of the line I made sure to give my phone number.
I’m not sure if there are actually any people in line, but I was able to give my phone number to a lot of people and they were happy to help me get something out of my hands. I was also able to give my phone number to a few people who didn’t even know what I was looking for.
I can understand people being concerned about their privacy when they are sitting next to you, but if they are actually in line, and you have to ask them for a phone number, you are really asking the wrong question. A customer can still contact you if they want you to check out their order, but it is much less likely that they would want to call you.
There’s also this idea that your phone is a distraction. This is a bit of an overreaction. I have been using my phone during work hours. The amount of time I spend on my phone is the same amount of time I spend on the internet and other apps. I don’t use my phone for the purposes of distracting myself from my job.
Your phone. Yes, you absolutely have a right to use your phone during your job, but if you are doing that you are also essentially doing something else that is very distracting. You are just giving your phone a break from work.
I have used a wireless keyboard to type a lot more quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, I have also been using my phone a lot less because I know I’ll never be able to put it down. Yes, it’s the time you spend on your phone that can be the most distracting, but the distraction also comes from the time you spend using it. Use your phone less.
It’s like this: when you are in a room, you are in a time loop. When you walk through the door of your office to start work, you are entering a different time loop. When you walk out of the same office, you are exiting the same time loop. When you walk outside your house or apartment, you are entering another time loop. When you wake up, you are entering yet another time loop. For most of us, this is all too distracting.
The problem is that many people just don’t use their phone enough. I feel like if we didn’t use our phones in the past, we would be a lot more aware. And I don’t believe that we’d be so distracted by it.
But we also have to be mindful of our time loops. We should be aware of them. If we were to turn off the phones tonight, it would be beneficial because it would make it harder for people to track us. We could be less aware of our time loops. And we would be more aware of these other loops that are in our heads. But we should be more aware of them. So turn off your phone.
