January 15, 2025
Our calendars will tell us what we find important. Our bank accounts will tell us what we find important. Based on what we schedule or how we spend money it tells us what we value. I'm starting to make this argument with our devices and our time.
This year I spent an entire 24-hour period not looking at my phone. It wasn't hard, in fact, I thought it would be harder. A few times I thought of going in to it and then realized the habit of going in it was taking over. Much was not required to overcome.
Each morning I spent the first 1-2 hours of my day without looking at my phone. I don't want to be directed by anything or anyone. I want to direct my own morning. I want to choreograph my own movements from the moment my eyes crack open.
We should all have such rules - so we can take control of our days and our time. To take it a step further, we should be more strict with how we use or time.
Why not take the concept of 'dry January' in regards to drinking alcohol and apply it to device usage?
57% or Americans think they're addicted to their phones, 150 times a day the average person checks their phone.
4 hours 25 minutes a day spent on average on phones.
8 hours of screen time per day lor teens;
52% increase in screen time since the pandemic.
68% of workers are distracted by their phones (email, social media and doomscrolling).
I out of 3 say social media affects their mental health negatively.
(Source: 'The Digital Fast: 40 Days Detox Your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most' by Darren Whitehead).
This is not a knock on technology but how we use it. Rather, how we let it use us. These stats are alarming. It makes sense why we feel so busy. Why we don't have enough time. While things in our lives don't work out - we don't take control of what we own, our time. We give it away and put up no boundaries. We don't fight for it. But if someone comes into your home to steal something, you'd be outraged. Yet, your time is stolen daily and you're a willing participant. STOP!
Gain control of yourself and your time at once. "Are you devoted to your calling or distracted by your device?"