My phone was run over by a truck recently. Long story. Anyway, after getting a quote to fix it, which was more than half the price of the phone brand new, I decided I would sit on it a few days, and run an experiment.
Five Days.
No Phone.
Here is what I found.
Before I start, I will say that whilst I do need to maintain a social media presence for brand and business purposes, I feel I'm better than the average person when it comes to phone discipline and the reduction of technology usage for periods of time. A tech fast, or a digital detox, if you will, is something that is a staple in my life.
#1: My attention was more focused
All my work was done on the laptop, only from the home office. It was concentrated. I was able to be proactive, rather than reactive. However, I wasn't able to be reactive if or when required.
Sure, I could have carried my laptop with me wherever I went, but that would defeat the purpose of living without a phone. Also, it's very inconvenient...and that is the biggest strength of having a phone on you at all times. It's convenient. We can get shit done on the fly that we never had access to in the not-so-distant past.
Since having it back the last few days, I've found that I've become a lot more reactive, and my attention is being distributed more evenly and broad throughout the day.
Moving forward, I think a blend of dedicated, shorter periods of social media and phone time, mixed with dedicated, longer "no phone" periods of intentional work, is the best way to fit the jigsaw puzzle together.
#2: Anything out of the norm is difficult
I was in my normal routine. I didn't travel to any new locations. However, I did meet some friends and book appointment's across this time period, which meant our communication and timings needed to be on point.
Think for a moment, about how you would need to prepare if you were to fly to a new city in a new country for the weekend without your phone on hand.
About a month ago, I traveled to Malaysia from my home in Phuket, Thailand, in order to apply for a new visa at the Thai Embassy in Penang. Moving door to door, through only the physical process of travel could prove to be very difficult. Especially if there are changes or communication issues. The only way around this is through prior preparation and printing of documents/instructions for self.
Proactive vs reactive again. If I'm squared away and can plan ahead (and things go smooth), then living without a phone is not a big deal. However, if I need the ability to adapt and adjust on the fly (who doesn't?) then phone on hand get's the win.
#3: It's getting harder to live with no phone
Simple things like paying at cafes or restaurants through QR code or Google Pay were no longer an option.
I found out that I could no longer use my Thai bank account mobile banking app without a phone, because the app is not available on laptop, which meant I could not pay my rent. This one surprised me.
I didn't experiment too much with what I could and couldn't do on the different tech platforms, however I did notice that it's not possible to share stories to social media platforms from a laptop, without a workaround. I'm sure this is just one of many changes across multiple domains which slowly prepares certain services to only be available via mobile phone.
I imagine a world in the not-too-distant future where it is extremely difficult to live "off-the-grid".
Is this a bad thing? Or a good thing? Is it both? Is it neither?
It just is. Get used to it.
#4: Podcasts are awesome
I didn't realise how much time I invest into podcast listening each and every week. Until I no longer had them on hand.
I started listening to podcasts in 2015 or 2016, after constantly changing the radio station in my car whilst driving home from work. I wasn't interested in what the Kardashians or Justin Bieber were doing. The news had me worrying about things in far off places that I had never been to and likely would never visit. Surely there had to be better options. After years of listening to a collection of the best minds in my industry of strength and conditioning specifically, and more broadly in health and fitness, I am extremely grateful to have a whole vault of principles and philosophies, borrowed from others, and combined together into my own system and understanding of what it means to be the best coach I can be.
In fact, I was inspired. So I started my own podcast.
Likely for the same reasons that these great coaches that came before me did.
I needed a content vault that I could pull from, and refer people to. For years to come.
Thank you to all of my mentors. Those who know, and those who don't.
I stand on the shoulders of giants.
#5: Life is better with music
Enough said!
Watch this space.
I will share some of my most highly recommended podcasts.
For now, check out my top 20 recommended episodes from the Live Train Perform Podcast!
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