I mentioned on Friday that I was contemplating giving up my smart phone, and only using it as a phone for the weekend. (Inspiration here and here.) I sprung the news on Joe Friday evening, and he wasn't really that into the idea. He half-heartedly agreed for like an hour, and that was that. I lasted about one full day, from Friday night till Saturday night, without checking social media at all. I did pick up my phone and almost check them, then remembered they were off limits. On Saturday night while I was rocking Ezzy to sleep I gave in and checked all the usuals (facebook, instagram, pinterest), then put the phone away until the next day.
Even though I wasn't reading social media/news sites, I did use my phone a lot more for actual phone stuff, like texting specific people, making actual plans to meet face to face - you know, the stuff phones are intended for.
Another side effect of giving up all those random minutes throughout the day scrolling mindlessly through my phone are that I finished a book that had taken me about a month to get 1/3rd of the way through. That's right, I read the last 2/3rds in two days, compared with 30 days for the first 1/3rd. Wow. I'd been telling myself I just didn't have time to read, with moving/unpacking/etc. Turns out I do have time to read, but I was just wasting it.
So even though I didn't follow through with giving up social media completely, I do think this weekend was a good reset button for me to practice being mindfully moderate with my smart phone use, instead of mindless and compulsive. Definitely something I want to put in practice all the time, and not just on weekends.
Anyone else have cell phone guidelines for yourself and/or your family?
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