I spent two weeks without a smartphone - here’s what I learned

Photo by John Tuesday on Unsplash

About a month ago as I was making my way down to bed, I began tapping on my phone to set my alarm for the next morning. Suddenly the screen froze completely. Realising quickly that frantic continuation of the tapping wasn’t going to fix it anytime soon, I did what any good IT expert would do…turned it off and on again. Unfortunately, nothing.

There wasn’t much I could do at the late hour so I headed off to sleep relying on hubby’s alarm for the next day, wondering if by some miracle it might fix itself overnight. Next morning, the same again. Eventually, I had to consult my in-house technician (i.e. my husband), who took one cursory glance at the screen before nonchalantly declaring “yeah, it’s totally broken.” Four words I wasn’t prepared to hear. Well, there was nothing for it - a new phone was needed! But one doesn’t budget for smartphones alongside the weekly shop as a general rule, so it would have to wait. 

Surveys conducted in 2018 show that 97% of the Irish population have access to a smartphone, with one survey showing we are one of the top smartphone users in Europe. Living without your smartphone is pretty much unthinkable these days. But what did I learn from two weeks without one?

I was more productive

There’s no doubt about it, technology is amazing and the great thing about a smartphone is that it can be used for multiple things: text, email, audiobooks, reading, online shopping. Everything is designed under the guise of making life easier and more efficient. But I have to ask myself - do I really need to add that extra pint of milk to the online grocery order when I’m halfway through the dishes? Absolutely not. Yet time after time I found myself lifting my phone for all manner of things in the name of being productive, thinking I was really getting something done. Ironically, without my smartphone, I found myself more productive and less distracted than ever. I started tasks and finished them on time. My concentration levels were better. I focused on one thing at a time.

I read more and rested

I noticed that my default position when I sat down to feed the baby or simply just to rest was that I’d take my phone with me - catch up on news, scroll a few Instagram feeds, and read a few online articles. With no phone to hand, I grabbed my books instead. When I needed to move on to my next task, I actually found myself more rested and relaxed. My mind wasn’t racing and I didn’t have that nervous, mental energy that comes with having fragmented ideas racing around my brain.

I was less agitated and irritated

That nervous, mental energy? It came with a cost. I may have mistaken it for ‘busyness’ but in reality, I was letting so many things compete for my attention. But they certainly weren’t of equal value. I noticed just how much these things had been niggling away at my attention span and causing a sense of general annoyance. I’d snap when someone interrupted me or I’d get angsty having just read the news or frustrated when I couldn’t finish something. With less trivial things taking up my attention, I was truly free to put my time and energy where it was really needed. Let’s be honest, that Amazon search for a new set of storage containers right in the middle of dinner preparation isn’t really necessary.

I didn’t compare

Finally, I felt more content. I really enjoy using Instagram; as someone who really appreciates aesthetics and beauty I love scrolling through beautifully curated feeds where colour schemes match and the surroundings are perfect. However, the downside with being this type of person is the feeling that my life is somehow failing to live up to this aesthetic. My real life simply does not look like that. I realised that I was becoming so deflated when I looked around my own home and found that my gratitude was slipping away. All I could see was a laundry basket of unfolded towels, a pile of shoes strewn across the floor, and toothpaste stains in the sink. Yet this is real life – this is my real life in all its messiness. The mess might drive me crazy at times but I’d be a fool to prefer a fake screen over it. Two weeks away from the grey sofas and gleaming white kitchen units did me the world of good. My life is not a curated feed, but it does have a different kind of beauty. I had just lost sight of where to look for it.

Now that my smartphone is back in action, I must admit that old habits die hard and I have to be much more intentional with my usage. It doesn’t come easy when I’m in the moment, but I know I am much more at peace long term and much more deliberate about my online usage. When I use my phone, either for a work task or to read something or listen to a podcast, I want it to serve my needs, not leave me feeling restless, flitting from one thing to the next. Ultimately those two weeks taught me that having a rectangle glued to your hand isn’t all it’s cracked up to be … here’s hoping I can continue to outsmart my smartphone.