Throwing My Phone in the Ocean

I have a love/hate relationship with my phone too! I particularly have great difficulty dealing with social media and email. I LOATHE email. I’m 28, and 99% of the time I would so much rather schedule a phone call than read and/or type an email to someone. As a business owner, so much has to be written for documentation, but OMG the emailing. I actually deleted my email from my phone years ago, and I have never missed it once. I have an AOL account still sent to my phone because it’s what I use for completely personal emails, but nothing for my business is pushed through because I do not have gmail set up. It’s honestly glorious because I have to go online and go to gmail’s website in order to view my mail. Because it takes effort, I check it less throughout the day when I’m not properly sitting at my desk, and I’m not bothered by it at all. My view: if someone needs to reach me that badly, they already have my cell phone number. The other thing I did years ago was delete Facebook from my phone. The only social apps I have are Instagram and Twitter, and they are both in a folder on the last “page” of my iPhone that’s titled “Time Suck”. It’s an aggressive name (HA!), but it’s acts as a good reminder every time I want to go on Instagram for something other than work. I also leave my phone on silent almost all of the time, and I “lose it” when I’m home. I leave it downstairs if I’m upstairs and vice-versa. Placing it far away from me is the best when I’m really trying to get something done because the distraction is completely removed (at least from my sightline :). When I’m on vacation, I also tend to leave my phone buried in a bag or on the kitchen counter when I’m at my family’s condo in Charleston. When it’s not with me, I have to be fully present
in order to enjoy the moment rather than
trying to capture it for Instagram. I could
keep going, but you are not alone at all!

Honestly, I really get what you say about us needing phones in todays world – Especially with the job you have. I was never addicted to my phone BUT I was still one of those people that couldn’t imagine going more than a day or two without it. Now, I haven’t had my phone since November 2016 – So, eight months and it’s really done me the world of good 🙂 I have an iPod which I use but, other than that, that’s it. My suggestion would be to leave your phone at home when you go out or at least don’t have any internet on whilst you’re out – Things on social media will still be there when you get home but, the things you miss whilst you’re walking along looking at your phone. Well, you’ll never be able to get them back. Have a great week/weekend:)

Chloe @ https://girllgonerogue.blogspot.co.uk/

I am totally with you on that! Sometimes I wish I would have been born way earlier! xx Nicki
http://www.morningelegance.de

I totally get you, specially with texting. It’s so useful and a great way to communicate but it can get too much sometimes and it’s important to remember that there is no need to communicate with each other every 5min! x

Ariadna || RAWR BOWS

Such a great post! I often feel this way too and try my best to only get on my phone when I truly have time and leave it tucked away and silent when I can’t afford to be distracted or need a break.
As for emails, I try really hard not to look at them until I know I can actually sit down and reply. Otherwise I would find myself thinking about all of those email while I needed my attention to be else where.
Taking a detox period can also be helpful, whether it is a full day or just certain hours during the day (other than sleeping) when you turn off your notifications and put the phone away.

Taylor | http://www.livingtaylored.com

Obviously, your situation is different than mine (I’m a back-for-my-third-degree student and community volunteer, not a blogger!) but I have employed many of the tactics you’ve mentioned and more. I don’t have a lot of needless apps installed on my phone. I don’t use it to play games. I don’t use Snapchat (absolutely ZERO interest) or Instastories, and while I *have* Instagram to be able to view others’ photos, I have never uploaded a single photo on my account. I stopped using Twitter last year, due to the poisonous atmosphere there, but I will occasionally read tweets related to my community or breaking news. I do have Facebook, because I am old/uncool and most of my friends live in other cities, but I keep notifications for that and nearly everything else turned off, because I don;t like seeing those red numbers pop up on my apps. I do keep on the visual notifications for texts and missed calls/voice mails. Sound is off for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. I cannot abide the pings and dings and sounds a phone makes. I will look at the phone occasionally and choose when to return texts and/or calls. I erase the voice mails without listening to them (obviously you can see who called and don’t really need to listen to the voice mail) unless it is one of my physicians (could be some medical news, which I think is important). I will say that I loathe talking on the phone, and only make calls for business or medical reasons. I don’t get email notifications until I open the app. I keep my phone on silent and either in my bag when out, or usually on my breakfast bar when home, so that I have to consciously move from living room or bedroom to look at it. I am of an age where when we left the house, no one could reach us, and where if we needed to call home, we used pay phones. Then when I was in middle school and high school, answering machines came in vogue, and my parents had those OG car phones! My mother was a very early adopter of cell phones and mobile technology, because she worked in beverage sales and primarily out of her car. I remember her transmitting her orders nightly with a modem! Things were just a lot different back then. I did have my own phone line, first with an answering machine, and then with voice mail, but I never had a pager because of the negative connotations. I got my first cell phone in 1999, one of those big Nokias, and then I think I moved to a flip phone in maybe 2002. I moved to a Blackberry in 2004, and actually was a huge fan for a long time. I didn’t even get an iPhone until the 3GS was out! I think I started feeling the societal pressure to be “on” all the time in perhaps 2010, especially for work, and it was after a career change in 2012 when I decided I had had enough of being tethered to a phone constantly and made the decision to turn my sounds/notifications off and take control. I have zero regrets! I think that if my job was phone dependent, I would set certain hours to have it on, and then keep it OFF the rest of the time!

I wholeheartedly agree that phones get in the way of enjoying life. That being said, I freak out every time I am not within arms length (or Bluetooth range with my Apple Watch on) of my iPhone. I’m currently a graduate student with no fewer than 3 jobs at a given time (usually 5 during the school year – yikes!) and my own dissertation is also in progress. My phone is basically central command for me where I can keep track of everything. Sometimes though, I just want it to STOP DINGING! I’ve implemented a system where I get notifications when only specific people email me (think advisor, bosses) and I stopped notifications from social media from doing anything more than adding to the little red circle. I can also put the phone on do not disturb and only my “favorites” can get through to me. This makes me feel like I won’t miss an emergency, but it makes everything else stop. I have do not disturb scheduled daily as well, so that I get a decent nights sleep. Hope you find a way to tame the notifications!

Wow, this post perfectly sums up everything I’ve been feeling lately! I recently added the Apple Watch and at first I was pretty apprehensive because I thought it would enable me even more but it’s actually the opposite! I can control which notifications get pushed to my watch and which ones I only see if I pull out my phone. If I’m hanging out with friends, I have actually been able to throw my phone into my tote bag and not even worry about it once. Phone calls get pushed to the watch, texts do as well (but you can quickly dismiss those you don’t need to see and if I get any from family or close friends I will read them and decide if I can push it off for later as texting on the app can be a bit cumbersome which actually works in my benefit), you can use google maps, music, airplane apps, even Starbucks and uber! When I have my watch I seriously don’t even think about pulling out my phone. I work as a resident assistant and because so much of my job revolves around emergency crisis and management, I find myself jumping on every phone call, email, or text even if I was on the other side of the country. This trick has helped save me so much stress and taught me when it may be important to respond immediately and when I need to put it away. Give it a try! Changed my world and lowered so much anxiety.

My husband and I made a new rule this year of no phones in the bedroom. I read at night now or we’ll chat about our day or just things in general. I use my Fitbit as my alarm clock now which is a calmer way to wake up for both of us.

I find that this no phone rule is helping me to sleep better and I was suprised to find that I haven’t has as many anxiety attacks since leaving the phone in our office overnight instead of bringing it in the bedroom. It has both physically and mentally disconnected myself from social media, emails, work, etc.

This is SO relatable! I remember when I was abroad in Paris, I felt so overwhelmed by my lack of likes on Instagram (well over 100, which is perfectly reasonable for someone like me!) compared with my friends that I really wanted to throw my phone into the Seine. I’ve found that keeping my phone on “do not disturb” all day and night helps me not get so overwhelmed about it.

I’m also looking for a job in social media if you and Maxie are serious about hiring someone to help manage 😉

Sleep mode is the best. I have it set to start at 10pm and it turns off at 8am. The only thing that will come through is anything in your “favorites” – so you’ll still get calls from say your parents or your kids in case there is an emergency – otherwise your phone goes silent. Its the only way to keep your phone on your nightstand when you’re sleeping without being interrupted 🙂

Carly – you’ve hit the nail right on the head with this post! While I’m not a “blogger,” my whole job could be done using my cell phone which means that as long as I have my phone with me, I feel like I could or should be working. Taking a vacation without looking at my phone for work purposes has only been accomplished by going to the tundra in Alaska – all other trips have involved work in some form or fashion as a result of being able to check in on things via my phone. Hats off to you for doing more to use your phone less! I love the idea of keeping your phone on airplane mode at night and during times with friends! Thanks for the tips!

I’m that person that never really liked texting or calling people. I still hate it when I get a text from someone after I’ve gone to bed but my phone is my alarm clock and because I text and call so little, if someone does contact me it usually very important. Such a dilemma… 🙁
Nicolette | http://www.nicolette.co

i have a flip phone + ipod touch, and still feel the urge to ditch the latter! i turn off wifi, or the entire device to take digital retreats <3