Yesterday I went an entire day without looking at my phone. In fact, the first thing I did when I woke up is I turned it off. This wasn’t planned. This was spontaneous. I got up early for some reason and felt like going on a walk. There’s something extremely beneficial about getting outside early in the morning. It’s a very peaceful time and it’s a good crowd of people to be associated with.
But for whatever reason, I didn’t want to have my phone on me. I didn’t fight this feeling one bit. Instead I accepted it and just did it. I capitalized on that feeling for the rest of the day.
The feeling of going about your day without the distraction of social media or even people trying to get ahold of you is amazing. And putting you phone aside is the only way to really do it. If you happen to look at your phone for a minute, all this benefit seems to go away and throws you off your path. For some, they may be better at looking at their phone in moderation. But for me it’s all or nothing.
With my phone being completely off, the first three hours of my day were extremely productive. Without the distraction of my phone, I was able to focus on me and what I needed to get done instead of other people asking me for things with work. I not only finished my workload for the morning very quickly, but I was thinking at a higher level. The deep concentration I was able to keep lead me to having some great and creative thoughts. I also felt more confident in my decisions since I had a clear head.
All of the little glances at our phones add up quickly. For me, some little glances stretch out to be sometimes hours at a time. I know this is not healthy, but it’s hard to stop once you start. For that reason, I like to do that all or nothing method. By that I mean putting my phone completely away and not allowing myself to take even a glance at it.
It can be a lonely feeling. Sometimes it was even boring. But out of that loneliness and boredom I would capture some great ideas. My inner dialogue was faster, smarter, and louder. This helped me not only get my work done quicker, but at a higher level as well.
The second half of my day was pretty similar to my first half. I was productive, thinking clearly, and able to attack whatever I was doing without any distractions.
After work, I spent some time with my girlfriend and even then I noticed a big difference. I was more social and energetic. My energy levels were off the charts. Since I was overall having better ideas, I would get energetic about those ideas. This put me in a very good mood and my girlfriend and I had a great time together.
Around 7pm I took my first look at my phone. And all the worries that I sometimes have like my boss or coworkers trying to get ahold of me or potentially missing out on something my friends are talking about turned out to be meaningless. I had less worries and that lead me to a great mood with a higher level of productivity.
The less we worry or things we have that make us worry, the better off we are in life. Sure, there are some serious topics that worrying may be beneficial. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the meaningless small worries that hold us back and throw us off our path we’re on. The worries that turn out to be nothing 99 times out of 100. Without these worries, our lives are simply better.
I recommend everyone to try a phone detox. It doesn’t have to be for a day like me. Make your own terms. I could be for an hour or a morning. I know that I will incorporate phone detox days more regularly in my life. The benefits are too obvious to me not to do it. My life seemed less stressful and I was much more present in the moment. My mind and body were both energized and I had an excitement to whatever I did that day. And I’m sure others will have a similar reaction.
Dabbl 