I Know I'm Not The Only One

I have a confession to make; I’m one of those people who takes my phone into the bathroom and check emails on the toilet. In this era of handheld devices, I know I’m not alone in this, and I also know that there is nothing new about this phenomenon. I can remember G-chatting with a friend a decade ago and calling them in the middle of the convo to switch our communication from typed to spoken, only to have them hang up quickly because they were actually taking care of personal business on the loo.
 
As long as we’ve had handheld devices, we’ve taken them everywhere with us: into the shower (yes, some people do this—I know for a fact!), into bed, into class, into meetings. And although there’s nothing new about this, it’s new to me. As a late adopter of a smartphone, I’ve often scoffed at these obsessive habits in others. But recently, I realized that I was just like everyone else—hand and eyeballs glued to my smartphone, no matter what I was doing.
 
I fantasize about getting rid of my smartphone, and I dream about the time in my past when I was free from its clutches. But I also have a handful of excuses why I just can’t. We just moved to a new place and how would I possibly get around without the help of my map app? My father is ill back in the States and I must keep in close contact with him, my sister, and his caretaker, as well as his doctors, social workers, etc. Much of this communication happens via WhatsApp, which wouldn’t be possible without a smartphone.
 
In the meantime, I do what I can to reduce the psychological hold that my smartphone has on me. The best way to do that is to stay mindful whenever I’m using it, and not fall into mindless habits—like checking email on the toilet.
 
My partner has given into my desire to keep our home wifi/internet-free, but I felt like this wasn’t really having the intended effect on my peace of mind if I was simply using my smartphone to browse the internet. So, I decided that I would work on only using my phone for the purposes that I find most indispensable—as a phone and a navigational device—and that’s it!
 
This week, I gave myself the ambitious goal of NOT CHECKING EMAIL ON MY PHONE. This is one of the activities that I do most mindlessly on my phone, filling space and time while waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting at a stoplight—or wasting time at home instead of unpacking. It’s a gateway drug, if you will. You start with email and next thing you know, you’re squinting to read an article about Cardi B’s beauty regimen. Plus, I hate responding to email on the phone, so what’s the point of browsing my inbox with only half of my attention if I’m not even going to engage with the messages? If I wanted to use my phone more intentionally, that I had to get rid of this habit first and foremost.
 
And I’m happy to report that I succeeded, for the most part. I only cheated once or twice – and once was to check my flight info while at the airport, so that doesn’t really count. I must say, I’m pretty proud of myself, and it’s my sense that my general smartphone use has gone down overall.
 
Don’t get me wrong – I still get the impulse to check my email on the phone. But by not allowing myself to go through with it, I avoid falling down the internet rabbit hole. Anytime I get the urge, I’m more than welcome to pack my laptop into my backpack, walk to the nearest café or to my partner’s office, log onto the internet and check my email.
 
This tactic is one way that I can keep myself honest when it comes to using my smartphone—without my smartphone using me! Let’s see how my self-control hold up next week…