After a lovely holiday in Cape Town, we boarded the plane, sat down and I opened my handbag to find my phone. I couldn’t find it.
Don’t panic, it must be here. I check again. No phone. Ok, it must be in my hand luggage… You see, I’m always misplacing my phone so this is nothing out of the ordinary. After much bag-scratching, I turn to my husband and say – “My phone is gone.” He rolls his eyes – like I said, this happens often. But this time it really is gone… we go through all the possible scenarios – maybe it was stolen from my bag… But then why didn’t they take my wallet too? Eventually we find out we left it in our friend’s car.
I was without my phone for ONE WHOLE WEEK. Let that sink in. If your whole life is on your phone, one week is a long time! In retrospect, this was the best thing that could have happened to me. It was like a forced detox from technology. Here’s what I learnt while I was disconnected from the world…
Firstly, I am addicted to my phone and social media. Most of us are, and I was already aware of this, but I didn’t realise how bad it was until my phone was gone. I kept reaching for it in those quiet moments when my hands weren’t were looking for something to do.
Secondly, my phone has become a crutch and a major distraction from life. I found with no phone in my hands, I became SO industrious at home! Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media, I actually became productive.
My son was happier… He hates it when I’m on my phone and not paying attention to him – and he misbehaves to get my attention. Well, with no phone as a distraction, I was fully focused on him and present in those precious moments with him. It felt great!
Social media is BORING. Seriously. I don’t know why I have spent so much time on it.
I learned to enjoy the quiet moments and to look up and observe the world around me. I even read a book for the first time in a very long time!
I was unreachable – at first this was a scary thought, but I grew to enjoy it. I realised my phone is a source of stress. Always checking emails, texts and missed calls. Always busy. Always available. I found a certain peace in being unavailable for a few days!
Of course, there are practical reasons why it’s good to have a phone in this day and age – mainly for safety reasons or if there is an emergency with your kids at school. But beyond that, we don’t really need our phones to be attached to us all the time.
When I finally got my phone back, I have to say I was a little disappointed. I don’t want to go back to how I was before – dependent on my phone. So in 2020, my most important goal is to spend less time on my phone. Why don’t you give it a try too, and let me know how it feels?
By Sarah Mackintosh