I distinctly remember getting my first cell phone. I was twenty-one (I know, I know, I’m showing my age a bit here). It was a Sprint Sanyo. Yes, it was a flip phone. Yes, it was a HUGE deal. 

I’m sure you all have somewhat similar stories of when you got your first cell phones (if you’re curious, you can check out my team’s first phones here, here, and here LOL! Enjoy!). 

Even though cell phones are pretty cool, and have helped make our lives easier in so many ways, they can also be really distracting. Getting in the way of actual face-to-face conversation, creating barriers between you and your child or spouse, and overall creating a vortex of fake news, hysteria, and drama that really does start to weigh down on the world. 

It’s time to power down.

With social media being the force that it is today, and with smartphones getting smarter and smarter, it’s almost impossible to go anywhere without getting some kind of a notification, alerting you to the newest game, app, system software, or news update out there. At this point, we’re all founts of information, but the problem is that info is coming from so many sources, that we hardly know what’s up and down anymore, and are expected to make rational, reasonable decisions based on such info. 

It’s just…a lot. Which is why today, (after you finish reading this blog 😉), I want to encourage you to power down your phone. Shut it off. Throw it in a drawer or under a pillow. Log out of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter from your computer so you’re not tempted to check them. 

And then, I want you to just sit. Relax. Listen to the birds chirping outside your window. Listen to your children laughing in the next room, your spouse making dinner in the kitchen. Listen to only your immediate world, not the universe at large. Power down, and for 24 hours (or less, if you can’t, but give it at least a solid chunk of time!), don’t turn your phone back on. 

Start small to take on the challenge.

This is a commitment. For some of us, it may be welcome, but for others this could be a real challenge. If that’s you, start small. Maybe put your phone into airplane mode for a specific period of time to reduce notifications. Or turn off your notifications altogether so that you aren’t bombarded and distracted all day, but can still use your phone. Choose specific times to commit to not using your phone like when eating a meal or spending time with your family. I try to stay as present as possible (when I’m with you, I’m with YOU) and so I keep my phone in my purse or in a different room.

I know it seems crazy. I’ll be the first to admit that I spend most of my free time scrolling through meaningless stuff on my phone, but setting boundaries on our phones can be freeing for our minds and keep us in the present moment.