I Was Forced To Put My Phone Down: The 4 Things I Gained From It

La La Land Mommy: I Was Forced To Put My Phone Down

Last week I was forced to go 3 days without my phone. It was working fine Saturday but then Sunday it just refused to turn on. After going back and forth with my phone company and trying every trouble shooting technique known to man. Which I actually tried before calling them. Yes I have been through this routine before. I also tried leaving the phone plugged in for 24 hours like I had suggested on the internet. When I saw YouTube videos suggesting to take the phone apart to charge I decided I had had enough. So I sucked it up and put the $8 insurance on the phone which I was trying to avoid doing so that I could get a replacement phone.

I’ll admit it at first I thought I was going to go crazy because I depend on my phone for a bunch of stuff. Let’s see. Uhm it holds my banking app, the games that I love, it’s my contact to the outside world, and my exercise apps. The biggest thing and probably the most important is it is my internet connection. Being a blogger means I need my internet connection because of course I have post to write. In fact the day my phone went out I was preparing to write a post for a campaign that I had coming up. I wound up typing that post from The Husband’s phone which was a 3 hour experience that I never want to have again. The post wound up not being my best and I had to tweak it once I got my phone back. I was not a very happy camper. When The Husband got home from work I was able to get on my social media and browse the internet but I still was without my apps though. But I appreciate the fact that I had some connection. I got my replacement phone on Wednesday but then I discovered it was the wrong phone so I still had to wait for them to send me the correct phone. So I still couldn’t use the phone the way I wanted to because I had to send it back. But I was made whole on that Thursday.

Being without my phone did make me appreciate some things. Cause lets be honest with all this technology you really don’t focus on some things like you should. So being without your phone forces you to refocus on them. I wanted to share the things I rediscovered during my 3 day hiatus.

1. I got to spend some undivided time with my family. I actually played Uno with my kids and they didn’t have to wait for me to finish a text, tweet, or Facebook status update. They actually got me. I loved that and I am going to do that more often.

2. I started working on a story that I have been working on off and on for the past 3 years. I have started and stopped so much. I once again restarted it. But hey I did put pen to paper. I hope to be sharing the beginning with you soon.

3. I was more active. I mean I really was I moved around my house and almost got 10,000 steps. Then I got bored so I popped in a fitness DVD and got to work.

4. I got my housework done quicker. Without having my phone to look at constantly I really made a dent in my housework and got it done way sooner than I usually do. If I did this with my phone I am positive I would have enough time to get everything else I wanted to do done

What I have learned from this experience is that I may want to put my phone down more often. I mean it really wouldn’t kill me to put my phone down for an hour or more. I may also need to get my priorities straight and focus on one thing at a time. Cause if I did I could get everything done. In a way I am kind of glad my phone went out cause I never would’ve realized this without it.

Have you ever just put your phone down? How did it go? Did you learn anything from it?