Backstory: I feel like I just did this Nudge. Oh, wait! That was cutting back on social media. Same thing? Sort of. For me I think this one is about focus, about not letting the phone distract me from the things I want to do. So the plan is to designate times when I can check and return messages, rather than being at its mercy 24/7.
What Happened: I started the work week with the intention of only checking voicemail and text messages, and returning any messages, at the beginning of my day (8 am), when I broke for lunch (noonish), and when I wrapped up the day and closed up my office (6…7ish). The big surprise? I didn’t need to do this.
I’m not tied to my phone. I don’t play games on it. I don’t check emails or newsflashes or how my latest post on Facebook is being received. I keep it with me during the day in case a client needs to reach me, but this week there weren’t any urgent calls; we communicated through emails and scheduled times for future chats. I also don’t take it with me to meals, and it stays in my office when I go to bed, so those distractions don’t apply.
The Ah-Hahs: As I reflected on this week’s Nudge, I wondered how it made it onto my List. I think…I think I just got caught up in the hype. There are so many articles and opinion pieces circulating in the world today about how we’re not really connecting, how we’re having closer relationships with our gadgets than with our friends and family members. I suppose I wanted to make sure that wasn’t happening with me.
It’s not.
In fact, as I paid attention to how I use my phone this week, I noticed how it allows me to do quick “Thinking of you!” check-ins with very busy people in my life. With different apps, I can reach friends across all time zones with no worries about long-distance charges. It also enables me to keep in touch with dear ones of very different generations: I call the Boomers, I FaceTime with Millennials. I’m grateful for all of this.
So, while at first I thought this Nudge was a “dud” for me, I’m actually considering it a “win”. Yay, me!