Have you ever noticed how much time we spend on our phones? It’s kind of ridiculous how much I scroll through my phone, wasting my time. But what would happen if we put our phones down for a week? Could we take over the world with all of that extra time?
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If you read my post last week about Beyonce and the number of hours we have in the day, you will have an idea of why I am doing this experiment. If you don’t want to read the article, in a nutshell, we waste too much time on our smartphones and smartphones weren’t a thing when Beyonce was starting out. Go, read it, I will wait. So, what would happen if I put my phone down for just a week? Would I finally get through that huge to-do list of mine? Or will I go insane with being cut off from the rest of the world?
Let’s be clear, I still had my phone. I have kids and need to answer calls from schools and clubs. But I was not allowed to scroll mindlessly on Facebook and Twitter. I was not allowed to head over to the local mums Facebook page and read any of the posts because I always end up getting the popcorn out and seeing in descend into chaos over recycling and school skirts. Next thing you know, three hours have passed and you learn some new swear words.
Day 1
Day 1 started out easy because the phone battery had died and I was tired. So the phone was put on charge in the bedroom and all of the notifications from social media were switched off. I spend the day organising posts, tidying the house, and not on social media. I also decided to work out what my “to-do” list really was. For me, it’s those jobs that to be done once in a blue moon but rarely seem to get done. Like cleaning the oven. Seriously, who has the time? Oh, I didn’t clean the oven, I just decided it needed to be done.
Day 2
Day 2 was slightly harder. My husband was out of the house for the entire day (8 am to 11 pm) so I had plenty of opportunities to look at the phone. Instead, I tried to organise my bedroom and bathroom and put stuff away in its proper places. I also took the chance to get some blog posts sorted for a few days. What can I say? Back to school was looming and once the school runs start up again, it might have taken me a while to get my mind into gear.
Day 3
We had planned a day out but we headed up being rained in, which was a shame. We decided to make the best of the situation by making a big cooked lunch, complete with pudding. This was not a cooked from scratch meal but this was the most effort I had put into cooking in a while. The only problem with cooking like this is the washing up afterward. I also took the opportunity to finish the edits to my history book (Newtownards in the Great War
Day 4
Today was a bad day and I found myself scrolling through Facebook. I don’t what happened but I caught myself on as I got sucked into watching an argument on one of the mum’s pages. I also had to get the last of the school stuff picked up so once I got my head out of my backside, we had to head out and grab some shirts. Honestly, I had ordered some in July but the seller had run out of stock, typical!
Day 5
After the silliness of the day before, I was determined to make today count. Or I hoped to anyway. Today I had to get organised for back to school tomorrow and we had to have an early night. This meant getting bags ready, finding all of those bits and pieces that go in the pencil case.
Day 6
I spend the day trying to get through (or start) my to-do list. Today, one of my kids was heading back to school, so I was a bit all over the place. We were up early, we were organised a bit sooner, and I had one less body running around the house. I tried to tackle the DVD bookcase, which is a bigger job than it sounds. The bottom three shelves were a complete disasters but I did manage to get it clean and organised again, it only took 4 hours! But on the plus side, Movie Mondays should be easier to organise now.
Day 7
The final day and I was trying to go out with a bang. I still had plenty of stuff to do on my list plus appointments to deal with today. Sitting about, waiting in waiting rooms is one of the places that I would have a scroll on Facebook instead of, er, just sitting there. It sounds boring but it was great to just sit there and relax instead of filling my brain with drama from people I don’t know.
So……?
Ok, it is safe to say that I didn’t take over the world but I did notice some big improvements. I was calmer, the house was tidier. My phone battery lasted for a day or two instead of only 12 hours or so, but that is probably because I switched off notifications (seriously, they drain the battery). I did make a start of my to-do list which is something. Putting down your phone and stepping back from social media is definitely something to consider if you need to find the time to take over the world.
Have you ever tried to put your phone down and have a social media detox? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to check out some of my other posts about trying to improve my life-
i always think about doing a technology detox but I takes a lot of resolution. For now I’ve only managed to do a social media detox 😉
We have come, in today’s reality, to even need a detoxification from technology and imagine it to be healthy. I am glad that every now and then, especially on vacation, for 15 days I forget the phone and find a mental balance that hardly during the year I can have
I have never in my dreams thought to go for a social media detox after I started my blog! Thanks for reminding me that I need a break!
Taking a step away from your phone is really important at times. It’s hard to remember what we did before our phone. Sometimes it’s best just to disconnect.
Yes, I do phone and social media detox for a couple of days sometimes. But, not longer than 2 days
This is something I would love to try. Our society has become so addicted and dependent on phones for instant information always searching for something. We end up missing out on a lot that’s around us. I forgot my phone at home one day and felt lost without it, coz if a question came up or if I needed info right away, I’d be checking my phone. But somehow it was a breath of fresh air not always being in the know.
I’m the same! But I have started leaving my phone in the house sometimes because I get fed up with it beeping away in my bag.
I think it’s hilarious that you picked up your phone within the first week! I suppose I would too. I have a friend that periodically checks out of Facebook for a month at a time. She is happiest when she does that.
I have deleted a lot of apps and I’m trying to keep it out of my hand. If anything, I’ve noticed that the screen really hurts my eyes!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I really need to give this experiment a go!
No problem! It is worth a try for a week to get a bit of a detox and give your eyes a rest from the screen.
Good for you i also doing this for at least on a weekend. I call it digital detox it really helps me focus on something more needed. Time well spend with family of course.
I have noticed that I am more focused since I started putting my phone down. If it wasn’t a mini computer, I’d probably just get rid of it.
What a challenge! I think I would be able to do it!
You should give it a go, it is a tough challenge but it is definitely worth it 🙂
What an interesting experiment. I don’t spend much time on my phone during the day in front of the kids but to be honest once they are in bed, it’s my ‘grown up’ time. I might be willing to switch off a couple of nights per week… just like cleaning the oven. I might clean that too hehe
I find myself getting sucked into the phone screen when the kids are in bed. Next thing you know, four hours have gone, most of it has been spent on Pinterest, and you want to make amazing lunchbox food but don’t have the time 😀
What an motivating way to challenge yourself – most people don’t even know that they need that let alone manage it for that much time. Good for you!
Thank you 🙂 I knew I needed to put the phone down but I didn’t realise how much it was in my hand until I started the challenge.
I need to do this. I haven’t been getting out of the house as much since I had baby #2 and I find myself hooked to my phone as the only connection to the outside world, but I find the more I’m on it the more ‘addicted’ I feel. What a cool experiment!
Once you have kids, it is tough to get out more and you find yourself using the phone more and more. It can be addictive, that’s why I wanted to do the challenge.
I think detoxing from technology every once in a while is a great thing. I think we all get way to used to it in our daily routines.
I’m still trying to use my phone less and less rather than a detox once in a while. It’s still tough because there is so much to see online and Pinterest is like a drug to me! 🙂
Wow! What a great challenge! I think this would be a healthy way to step away and get some great prespective! I dont know if I’d be able to do it, I’m always on my phone because of blogging but I guess I could limit it to when i’m on a desktop and at night! It would certainly be a change!
I find I use blogging as an excuse to have my phone in my hand a lot but it is just an excuse for me. It’s great putting your phone down a few hours before bed, you will sleep so much better 🙂