Most of all, it's the primary device for long-distance communication. When you have your phone with you, people can easily contact you and reach you during emergencies.
However, the smartphone has also become one of the biggest distractions for people. It's so tempting to reach out to it when you're at work or studying, so much so that smartphone addiction now exists.
Going a day without your phone is a challenge. It's like you don't know what to do without it because there's nothing to fiddle, tap, and look at in your spare time. Whether you placed it in the care of iPhone repair or just voluntarily locked it in a drawer, doing this challenge is a good way to raise self-awareness with your screen time and how the world today revolves around technology.
Start Writing
The phone has become so handy. Everything that used to be physical can now be in one portable device and only one click away. There are scheduling apps and calendars that remind you of what you need to do for the day. Give it enough information and there's nothing to worry about.
Without these apps, a day without your phone means you have to start writing down your to-do list and your schedule. Carry around a handy-dandy notebook with you and start plotting your entire day.
If you're worried about forgetting your appointments, studies suggest that writing improves memory retention. When you write, you become more active in the information in front of you, making it more engraved in your memory.
Try these substitutes:
- Planner
- Post-it notes
- Bullet Journal
- Pocket notebook
Go to the Backyard (or Look out the Window)
Maybe when you had your phone, you barely went out and experience nature. There's so much stuff to do to fill the time when you have a phone: endless scrolling on social media, chat with friends, read articles, etc. You also have delivery apps that do the grocery shopping for you and order food from.
When you find yourself needing to spend some spare time, consider utilizing the backyard. A study of 20,000 people found that being surrounded by nature for two hours a week benefits the overall well-being of a person. Nature also reduces stress levels, anxiety, and improve the immune system, among other health benefits.
If you live in an apartment without a backyard, you can look out the window. Especially with being stuck at home, people could feel so closed in and secluded from the outside world. By looking out the window, you could trick your brain into thinking you've actually gone and that you're not so isolated after all.
Here's what you can do in the backyard:
- Read a book
- Dance around
- Take care of plants
- Grill something
- Exercise
Use Your Laptop
This is... kind of like cheating, but there's so much productivity that can happen when you use your laptop. The phone might be a bit of a distraction, as you're scrolling away, opening apps, and closing them.
On the laptop, you can multitask easily and on a larger screen. You can have Word open while browsing the internet, and a lot of more things all at once. Besides, work may need you to use a computer anyway.
Just make sure you don't open social media on the web to stay productive throughout the day. Messaging apps can be an exception, too, because this could be the only way you can communicate with family and friends while you don't have your phone. When the workday ends, you can watch YouTube and Netflix all you want to fill the remaining hours of the day.
How NOT to defeat the purpose of not using your phone for a day:
- Don't open social media.
- Stay away from apps and websites that can be distracting for you.
- Turn off notifications.
When you don't use your phone for a day, you might find yourself with a few hours to spare and not knowing what to do with it. You could also realize how dependent you've become on the nifty apps on your phone. The smartphone is an amazing invention. There's no denying it has made life easier for people who use it, but it might also be taking people away from things that matter to them.