Things I Have Noticed Bout Not Having A Cell Phone:
1) I don't care.
Yup, that about covers it.
To put that into context, I can usually be found with my phone in my hand or on my lap or on the desk/table next to me. I check it at least once each 5 minutes. I read on it, listen to music on it, play games on it, text, talk, take pictures, use apps and generally prove I'm right about anything being debated (i.e. Google Search, IMDB, Wiki). I spend a nice $60/month for unlimited TalkTextWeb for that phone and I get every single penny's worth.
And now the only thing I can really think to say about not having it, is "I don't care. "
I miss my music for sure, but it's backed up on both home computers and my work computer so it's really only when I'm driving that I'm missing out. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd burn a disc or two to get me thru.
I miss the ease of checking Google Maps before leaving work to see which way has the least traffic.
I miss being able to prove I'm right - now I have to rely on others to just know I'm right and that is more hit or miss than I'd prefer.
I miss the quick text to a friend, or having ANY phone numbers. Did I think about phone numbers before this? NotSoMuch. I have definitely spent a nice chunk of time looking phone numbers up on the web this past week. And in even more cases, making due without.
Probably the hardest part of this Challenge is all the people and situations that need me to have a phone wherever I am. And I have had to pull it out, turn it on and use it a couple of times. I don't like how it feels, and I know it's necessary.
I seem to have resolved the Boss-Phone issue. I've conceded as requested to turn my "F**ing phone on and answer her F**ing calls" (said with as much joking tone as she could muster). I have it on at all time between 8:00am-5:00pm that I am not at my desk. And she hasn't used that to her advantage once. I think she just needed to know that she could.
Yesterday my youngest got sick and had to be seen at the doctor so I had to be gone for a few hours at the end of the day. The phone never rang, but the email went off. I did as agreed: checked each email and only replied if it was urgent or important (0 out of 22 emails in 3 hours). I checked any text for sender and if it wasn't from a staff or The Boss, I didn't have to deal with it. At the moment, I have 13 unread texts that I will get to February 1st. If any of YOU reading this are the senders, I don't know what you have said but if "K," "Thx," "Me Too," or ":)" answer you, then there you go.
In adebate conversation at the office last week about this Challenge, one of the staff said I wouldn't "make it a week-and-a-half." Listen, I'm the person who does 12 more pushups when the trainers says to give her 10. I'm the person who does 60 of something I was told to do 50 of. I'm the person who ... well, shit, I'm the person who CHOOSES to Challenge myself monthly to things I am not sure I can do or can NOT do for 30 days. So now that You've suggested I can't make it for 10-11 days, you can bet that even if this gets really hard, I won't be quitting before Day 13.
I know I've said this a few times, but this Challenge really isn't hard for ME. It is hard for my lifestyle, or the lifestyle of our current culture, for sure. I am expected to be able to take care of things on the fly. I'm supposed to be reached about my sick daughter anytime anywhere in the day. I'm supposed to be able to check my scheduled, my email, my voicemail, my texts 24 hours a day. I'm supposed to be able to call my best friends for their birthdays no matter what we are doing all weekend. I'm supposed to be able to cancel appointment, make meetings, and take calls to pick up my kids whenever requested.
In those ways, this is hard. Learning how to work around that part of what I'm accustomed to. Learning how to help others work around that part of what THEY are accustomed to. But the actual doing of it is fine. It's good. It's better, even, than the life of Go-Go-Go. In fact, I've taken naps twice in the first 7 days of this month. I'm not sure when the last two naps I can count before that were, but they certainly weren't in the same week's time.
I think I'm supposed to feel like I'm missing an appendage, but instead I really enjoy this. I will wait until we are closer to the end of the month to declare the permanency of my lack of technology, but at the moment I'm want to continue this at some level. I can't completely rid my life of a cell phone, but I may go buy one of those 12-button flip-phones or even haul out an old-school block cell phone from the 90s. And call it a day.
1) I don't care.
Yup, that about covers it.
To put that into context, I can usually be found with my phone in my hand or on my lap or on the desk/table next to me. I check it at least once each 5 minutes. I read on it, listen to music on it, play games on it, text, talk, take pictures, use apps and generally prove I'm right about anything being debated (i.e. Google Search, IMDB, Wiki). I spend a nice $60/month for unlimited TalkTextWeb for that phone and I get every single penny's worth.
And now the only thing I can really think to say about not having it, is "I don't care. "
I miss my music for sure, but it's backed up on both home computers and my work computer so it's really only when I'm driving that I'm missing out. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd burn a disc or two to get me thru.
I miss the ease of checking Google Maps before leaving work to see which way has the least traffic.
I miss being able to prove I'm right - now I have to rely on others to just know I'm right and that is more hit or miss than I'd prefer.
I miss the quick text to a friend, or having ANY phone numbers. Did I think about phone numbers before this? NotSoMuch. I have definitely spent a nice chunk of time looking phone numbers up on the web this past week. And in even more cases, making due without.
Probably the hardest part of this Challenge is all the people and situations that need me to have a phone wherever I am. And I have had to pull it out, turn it on and use it a couple of times. I don't like how it feels, and I know it's necessary.
I seem to have resolved the Boss-Phone issue. I've conceded as requested to turn my "F**ing phone on and answer her F**ing calls" (said with as much joking tone as she could muster). I have it on at all time between 8:00am-5:00pm that I am not at my desk. And she hasn't used that to her advantage once. I think she just needed to know that she could.
Yesterday my youngest got sick and had to be seen at the doctor so I had to be gone for a few hours at the end of the day. The phone never rang, but the email went off. I did as agreed: checked each email and only replied if it was urgent or important (0 out of 22 emails in 3 hours). I checked any text for sender and if it wasn't from a staff or The Boss, I didn't have to deal with it. At the moment, I have 13 unread texts that I will get to February 1st. If any of YOU reading this are the senders, I don't know what you have said but if "K," "Thx," "Me Too," or ":)" answer you, then there you go.
In a
I know I've said this a few times, but this Challenge really isn't hard for ME. It is hard for my lifestyle, or the lifestyle of our current culture, for sure. I am expected to be able to take care of things on the fly. I'm supposed to be reached about my sick daughter anytime anywhere in the day. I'm supposed to be able to check my scheduled, my email, my voicemail, my texts 24 hours a day. I'm supposed to be able to call my best friends for their birthdays no matter what we are doing all weekend. I'm supposed to be able to cancel appointment, make meetings, and take calls to pick up my kids whenever requested.
In those ways, this is hard. Learning how to work around that part of what I'm accustomed to. Learning how to help others work around that part of what THEY are accustomed to. But the actual doing of it is fine. It's good. It's better, even, than the life of Go-Go-Go. In fact, I've taken naps twice in the first 7 days of this month. I'm not sure when the last two naps I can count before that were, but they certainly weren't in the same week's time.
I think I'm supposed to feel like I'm missing an appendage, but instead I really enjoy this. I will wait until we are closer to the end of the month to declare the permanency of my lack of technology, but at the moment I'm want to continue this at some level. I can't completely rid my life of a cell phone, but I may go buy one of those 12-button flip-phones or even haul out an old-school block cell phone from the 90s. And call it a day.
Anyone have one of these lying around their junk drawer?
No comments:
Post a Comment