A Day Without My Phone

As a child of the digital world I am an avid user of digital media. Whether it is my phone, laptop, or TV it is part of my day consistently. Yet, as a school assignment I had to go a whole day without any of these. Sadly, I did have to include use of my computer to work on assignments though, as I am a college student and it is toward the end of the term in school. I choose a day on the weekend, when I didn’t work, so I could stay home, since I rely on my phone for transit, as well as scheduling. I woke up without an alarm, and felt rested, because for the first time since I could remember I got the amount of sleep that I needed. Then I walked my dog. I could not listen to music and tune out the world. I was able to hear so much more. When I got home and settled down to do some homework, and with a cup of coffee and music playing aloud from my home speakers I was ready to get work done. Usually I would take small breaks from work on social media, or playing a video game; Instead, I played with my dog and made a snack. Afterwards I would either go to bed or relax with some TV, in place of this I read a book and tried to fall asleep. The most difficult part of this experience was focusing on my work and going to sleep. When I use my phone to study I have headphones that cancel out the world, without them I was too aware of my surroundings and was easily distracted. Additionally, I have had a long history of struggling with sleep insomnia, though I still have difficulties, I have found that listening to the audio of a show or a podcast helps me with this. So, without access to these options, I spent hours wrestling to get some rest. Overall, it was a good exercise, and I would recommend it to others. It reminded me of all the things I can do without my device. As well as the importance of creating distance between me and my devices.