Leave Your Phone at Home

I started leaving my phone at home, and I think you can too!

I recently made some changes to how I interact with technology recently, and so far it's been a positive experience. In this post, I will make the case for

why you should consider leaving your phone at home as much as possible, and

that the amount of times when this is feasible is potentially more than you might expect

leaving your phone at home is much more feasible if you have a smart watch or large tablet with cell service

I would like to preface all of this with saying: Given your life circumstances, parts of this may not be feasible. I will speak from my experiences, and I hope you find parts of this that fit into your own life.

Why?

The human experience is constantly being bombarded with information, communication, updates, notifications, etc. I think this is bad. Ask yourself: "At the end of my life, what are the chances I will say 'I wish I spent more time on my phone'?" Probably not.
How?

If you do want to leave your phone at home, the solution is dead simple: Just leave your phone at home. Once you've left home, you're in the clear!

Of course, things get complicated if you find yourself in a situation where you need to use your phone. So then the question is: What are those situations? For my own life, this includes:

I need to call 911

I need to use a map

I need to reach my kids/spouse

I don't have either, but I'll include this anyway

I have found that all of these things are feasible with either an Apple Watch or iPad with cell service. It is more clunky for sure, but it works.

You may say "Well you're still connected/online, that's cheating," which is reasonable. But it is too cumbersome to pull my iPad out of my bag and start scrolling, and my Apple Watch is awkward to use. For me, these are high enough barriers so that I just don't bother. So mission accomplished!

Is this realistic?

I think yes, especially if you have an iPad/tablet with cell service. Specifically one that's large/cumbersome enough so it's a hassle to take out, etc. You can still have all the same apps on your phone, but the calculus goes from "I can whip out my phone and have access to all the information I need" to "I guess I could get that information, but it's a hassle to get to".

As an exercise, give it a shot a couple times. Maybe for a short, straightforward errand, or just a nice walk outside. I suspect the distinction between need and want for your phone will become more apparent with practice, and that it's less daunting than you might expect.

Is it worth it?

In my case, I would say absolutely yes. In the past three weeks after starting to do this, I have taken my phone out of my apartment once, and most days I don't use it for more than 5 min/day. Overall, I have found:

I really do not need it as much as I thought I would

I have not found myself in a situation where I wished I had it

I have been less stressed/anxious

I have found that my overall level of focus has improved

So if this is something that's feasible for you, give it a shot! It's as easy as walking out the door.

Related

Phones Bad

Avoiding the Global Lobotomy

Smartphones: Parts of Our Minds? Or Parasites?

Sacrifice to The Algorithm Gods

Digital Echoes and Unquiet Minds