I did something crazy last night. A complete act of the subconscious. Before I went to bed I turned my phone off and plugged it into the charger. That's not the crazy part. Here it comes... I never turned it back on.
Like most people I have my morning routine. After waking up I immediately grab my phone. I do this because there may be pressing news that I should know about. After I read the texts that came in after I went to bed, I check Facebook (of course), LinkedIn, Twitter and email. Sometimes this is a good 30-minute time suck before my day even starts. Then I look at the clock and say, "Oh shit! Look at the time." I get out of bed and begin my day. No worries, I still have my trusted companion with me at all times.
As my morning progresses sometimes I find myself getting a neck cramp because I'm looking down at my phone so much. Yep. No judgement. At the rate our society is going the chiropractic industry is going to be booming with new clients. We're all going to be walking around with a hump on our back and a phone stuck to our forehead in the next 20-years. A scary reality.
My daughter tells me I have two favorite sentences in the morning, "Just a second... I'll be right there." This apparently comes out of my mouth repeatedly as I'm catching up on the latest social media updates. She also has a favorite sentence, "Mom, did you hear me?" This sentence is usually said with some frustration five (sometimes 10) minutes after she heard me say, "Just a second... I'll be right there." Ah, the normal morning routine. And I wonder why we frequently miss the bus and I end up having to drive my daughter to school. Hmmmm. No need to go into the details of my afternoon and evening... It's pretty much the same.
So last night I did something crazy... I never turned my phone back on. This morning I woke up, realized what I didn't do and then intentionally didn't turn my phone back on. I left my love companion on the desk all by itself. I did gasp a bit and thought, huh, I kinda feel free.
This morning was different -- better. My daughter and I took our puppy for a walk and we talked. We hung out at the local coffee shop and we talked. We strolled through the neighborhood and we talked. When we sat down to have our breakfast I asked her what she was grateful for. Her response, "I get to hang out with you."
Thank you Universe for the wake-up call. My phone is still turned off.
Author, speaker & coach, Gina Soleil is acclaimed author of Fuel Your Business: How to energize people, ignite action and drive profit. She blogs and speaks about how to create a business where people are energized, feel good and are happy. Visit ginasoleil.com and follow her on Twitter.
Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com / Foter.com / CC BY