Balancing Cellphones With Life

I have written about how I often asked my USC students to give up their cellphones (or face a 27-page paper).

Of course, they reluctantly did it and reported back to the group that they both liked being phone-free and hated it.

I have an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, laptop and like you I’m grappling with ways to stay connected and be disconnected as well.

That’s called balance.

A friend of mine, R Dub!, a dj in San Diego, recently stashed his phone for a week while on vacation and got these results:

  1. Slept better.
  2. More polite – no glancing down or distracted conversations.
  3. Took in life more and experienced it in the present.
  4. No longer tempted to check the phone while driving – really, it used to wait and still does.
  5. Recognized that the world didn’t end if he didn’t check the phone at least every hour.

The number of times we check our phones each hour is insane – more than once and many more times for teens.

The optimum use for your cellphone is a tool for communication and information, not a lifestyle.

Adjust it appropriately to get to a balance, but the first step is starting now.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to social media.