Submitted by MitchTobol on

Off the grid

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Lifestyle

Last Tuesday, July 4th, I agreed to go totally "off the grid." No phone or computer at all...not even to check to see if there was an emergency. And I only told 4 people I was doing this.

 

It wasn't that hard but I must admit that I kept reaching for my phone in my back pocket quite a bit. At one point I even felt my butt buzz as if I was getting a call.

 

Unfortunately when I returned to my electronics the next morning, there were several people who were very worried. One was about ready to call the local hospital to see if I was there.

 

After taking care of the 1,024 emails I received plus all the texts and phone calls, I realized a simple truth.

 

It's hard to moderate your connection to the world. The programs and apps we use are designed to keep us wanting more and are addicting. If you didn't see it, 60 minutes did a piece on how programmers are hacking the brain to keep us bent over our phones, engaged with our devices and eventually capitalizing on this connection. See the episode here.

 

A recent 2016 study of smartphone use found that the average user has 76 phone sessions a day - We keep coming back to our phones for more little surges of dopamine.

 

I dare you to try it...take one day off. I guarantee you'll feel more relaxed by the end of the day :)

Comments

Norman Spizz

I've done it many times. Easiest way to do it is to go somewhere where there is no cel service like the jungles of Peru where i went last year.

Submitted by TheodoreLanzaro on Sat, 07/08/2017 - 00:16

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Theodore Lanzaro

I saw the 60 minutes piece. Scary! Many years ago, before smart phones, I was in a quaint deli in Door County, WI where everyone sat at the same table to eat. An elderly gentleman engaged me in conversation and asked what I did. I told him I was a manager in an accounting firm (my job at the time). He said "So, you are a slave". I said "No, I am a manager now, I have paid my dues". He said "Son, you will always be a slave to your clients!" I can only think now how true this statement really is these days with smart phones IF YOU ALLOW IT TO BE! If you can't or won't take a day away from your phone, you are a slave. Making and allowing yourself to be instantly available to clients via text, email or phone is absolutely counterproductive to your business and diminishes the respect your client have for your time. My practice is to review items a few times a day and respond only to those most important immediately then the others later. Same for phone calls. It forces people respect your time and boundaries. So, congrats to Mitch to doing this.
Alan Kreit (NMLS ID 690784)

When I was on a cruise to Canada in 2015, we had no service, no emails, no texts, we got our news on the public computers on the ship. I was able to communicate with my kids, they weren't attached to their phones all the time. The kids were engaged in just having fun with us and other teens on the boat. It was wonderful. I checked in every few days and their were no life altering work emergencies. Everything was taken care of. Once we got back to the States and there was cell service they were back on, but the week away from the grid was a precious time.
Rona Gura

I struggle with this every day. I long to turn away from the phone at certain times of the day, i.e. after 8:00 p.m. but tend to break my own rule. Last night I answered a non-emergency text from at client at 9:30. I'm a work in progress. LOL
Kelly Welles

Great piece Mitch. I totally recommend selective time-outs. Like a car, if you don't recharge, the battery dies. And guess what? The world is still there and happy to have you back...alive.

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