Too Much Time On Your Phone?
We all know that we spend way too much time looking at our phone. No matter where we are that phone is within our reach. And reach, we do. Speaking for myself, I am never quite sure what it is I am expecting to see when I look at my phone. Is it habit or boredom that has us always reaching for our phone? It could be a little of both. Maybe we are afraid we are going to miss something.
Do you ever wonder how much time you spend looking at your phone? We might be better off not knowing that little fact. But our time is valuable. And we are always complaining that we don't have enough time, but we waste so much of it staring at our phones.
We are missing out on having real conversations and interactions with others. But we are also missing out on all the little things we used to do before the day of computers, tablets, and cellphones. That's sad.
I remember being out to dinner with my husband, and I noticed a couple sitting across from us. Both had their phones in their hands and were looking down. I am not sure if they even engaged in conversation during their meal. I also commented about them to my husband. I honestly thought that it was kind of sad.
But then later, there have been a few times out to dinner since then that I have realized we are now sometimes doing that same thing. I am working on that.
Maybe we should try setting aside some no-phone time. Set aside an hour, or even a whole day where you place your phone out of reach. And then do something worthwhile and enjoyable. And especially create a no phone time during meals.
Things we could do instead of staring at our phones-
Take a walk and enjoy some nature. Stop and smell the roses as they say.
I can never understand what is so essential on your phone that you walk around so unconcerned about stepping into traffic or running into someone. And don't get me started on those people who can't put their phones away while driving.
Sit down on the porch and enjoy the view even if it's only watching the traffic going past. Enjoy the quiet time. Leave the phone in the house.
Read a book instead of reading texts and emails. I find it quite enjoyable. A good book beats the heck out of reading a few meaningless texts.
Sit down with someone and engage in a conversation. Hey, maybe even make some eye contact.
Clean out a drawer or organize a closet. You know you've meant to do that, but just never got around to it.
Make a to-do list and then do one of the items on the list. Or maybe do two things on the list.
Watch a complete movie without ever checking your phone. Eat some popcorn that might take your mind off your phone.
Get a manicure. That should keep your hands busy for a while.
Bake some cookies. The smell of those cookies baking and then eating that first one. Come on now, isn't that worth putting that cell phone in a drawer for a while?
Try doing a crossword puzzle or even start working on putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Give your brain a bit of a work-out.
I think we all know that we are pretty much never going to get rid of our phones. But maybe no phone times would be an excellent habit to start. Sure it would take some time, but in the end, it just might be worth it.
I am not by any means suggesting that our phones are not extremely useful to our daily life. There are considerable benefits to having a cell phone. But are we overdoing it?
Tell me your thoughts about our apparent obsession with our phones and other electronic devices. Are we missing out on things?
"I finally realized that people are prisoners of their phones...that's why it's called a 'cell' phone."