A 3-Year Follow-Up on Living Without a Cell Phone
I meant to do this a long time ago. Really, I did. 3 years (actually almost 3.5 at this point) without an update on my phone-free status seems pretty excessive. But honestly, I've been so busy enjoying my interruption-free life that it just slipped my mind. ;-)
Okay, all silliness aside, I really do want to share what life has been like. If you missed it, I announced to the world that I was doing this when I first made the decision. It kind of came out of nowhere at the time. By the way, I never had a computer phone. My last phone was a flip phone, and I'd really only even had a cell phone with a texting plan on it for about 2 years prior to that. I've been slow to embrace this particular technology. I just didn't see the sense in having a way that people could get a hold of my anywhere, anytime. It was fun to try out when they first came out, but soon enough I was annoyed at the distraction. And why did I need a computer in my pocket when I had a perfectly good one at home?
I do have a laptop. It's convenient for taking to meetings and for working at coffee shops. I don't need it to be any more accessible. I was feeling like I only had a phone to go along with the crowd in the first place, so I figured, hey, how about it I just get rid of it? I can use my computer to make phone calls through my Google Voice number, and I can do my Skype and Zoom cals with friends I want to see through my computer too. Let's just see what happens. After all, I figured that if I really missed it I could always get another, right?
So here we are, this many years later. And it's amazing. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to go back to owning a cell phone. We have a landline so that my daughter has an emergency phone option when she's home alone if something were to happen. And I do use all of those other options to make phone calls from my computer, just as I predicted I could. What am I missing out on, exactly? Hmm. Here's all I could think of:
1. Interrupted Fun. There have been times when I arrived home from an awesome party with friends, a date night with my husband, or a quiet concert, only to find some drama blowing up on my e-mail or through a voice mail. Man am I glad that my good time was not ruined by hearing/seeing that stuff while I was out!
2. Embarrassment. Every time someone's phone rings during an inappropriate time, like a wedding/funeral/lecture/dance class/meditation session/OBGYN appointment/fill in the blank here with embarrassment of your choice, I *never* have to look around and have that horrendous heart-pounding moment of, "Oh crap, is that me???". Whew.
3. Extra Tech Issues. There's one less thing I have to worry about breaking, needing new parts for, needing a replacement for, taking to a specialist to fix, losing contacts in, having to re-load programs onto, etc. I'm good with limiting the number of headaches I have to deal with when it comes to stuff that needs maintenance.
All of this stuff has lead to a life that has a lot less stress. Which makes me happier. Which equates to (gotta come full circle with my whole purpose here folks) a healthy overall lifestyle. Truly. If you had linked my overall health to my decision 3+ years ago, I probably wouldn't have given you much attention. Now that I've come this far with it though, I absolutely see the relationship between the two.
You don't have to completely ditch your phone to get these benefits. I promise. You could get these from deciding to go phone-free for a day. Or even an hour!! I'm getting ready to unveil a program that will show you how....stay tuned. In the meantime, leave a comment below to share what thoughts you have about what it would be like to turn off your phone, if only for a short time.