Tag: smart phones

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New Vlog Out: Breaking Bad Phone Habits

Since my February 17 blog on breaking bad phone habits, my eyes have popped wide open to my unhelpful routines, one in particular: I have just not been able to put the phone down at my cut off time at night–9.30 pm. For the past couple of nights, I have been sucked in to reading something or even listening to something at about 9.15. And though I know it is a risk, I’ve indulged myself and the result has been the same, a sleepless night.

Why? I’ve not yet embodied the experience of how it really makes me feel to engage with one of my devices fifteen minutes before I am supposed to be winding down. Frustrated and sleep deprived this morning, I am going to spend some time today dropping into the experience, reflecting on it, feeling it repeatedly. Looking forward to the the light bulb turning on and understanding that this  bad habit no longer serves me, if it ever did.

For more tips on breaking your own bad phone habits, check out my latest vlog.

And do see how ready you are to tackle the problem with our short quiz on the subject. Click launch button to play.

See you next time. Take care of you inside out and remember it is you I owe.

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Best Use of Your Device For A Good Holiday

Everybody needs a holiday from time to time and no better time to heed that message than when there is an official public holiday, like today, this Fourth of July holiday in the US. Celebrating independence is a wonderful thing to do and America does it well with family cook outs and fireworks all over the place.

This got me thinking about holidays without cell phones. I remember plenty, though it is not a memory that you will have, teen girls, and you probably can’t even imagine, right?

Bear with and think about it—the benefits you could have.

Nicola Morgan, guest on our podcast: Episode 12: Your Online Wellbeing Inside Out says that if we spend enough time doing the things that serve us both mentally and physically—spending time with family and friends, reading, daydreaming, sleeping, checking out culture near and far and so on—then we would have less time to squander on social media, on our phones.

What a great idea for a holiday. Imagine keeping it in the family, local! I must be joking, right? After all, you might be reading this blog on your phone. So, an entire day off the phone might be more than a reasonable request, however, what about stashing it away in a room or in your handbag, which is stashed away in a room, during the barbecue, the fireworks.

This small act could do wonders for your brain. I know; I have tried it. Never mind the great photos and selfies you could get on your smartphone.  Ask one of the adults in your family for a good ole camera! They will have one somewhere.

Last Fourth of July I was actually in the US and noticed smartphones draped around the room, at the table, everywhere, and in between bites and conversation, people glancing at theirs. That’s when I suggested heeding two of Nicola’s top tips. 1) Put away your phone at mealtimes, even a coffee with a friend, 2) Ban during conversations. Don’t even glance. Gulp!  And the third is switch off and put out of sight 1.5 hours before bedtime.  This is the tip that has served me really well over the last couple of years.

Anyhow, back to the first two tips, not so easy said my niece, Nikki, who uses her phone for everything and she is not even a teen girl, but she did pledge to give it a go, start putting the phone away for thirty minutes at a time. So, mon cherie (I am in France this holiday) how is it going?

As for me, I continue to make progress. Can’t say I have had an entire day without my beloved phone. After all it is my camera but it stays in my sac a main (handbag) or wherever it is during meals and conversations, except for when I need to take a photo of the cuisine. And if I am honest with myself, these tips have served me really well and those around me, too.

It’s all about striking the right balance and getting a much deserved holiday. For more tips on online wellbeing, listen to our special episode on our website, iTunes or where ever you listen to podcasts. Stay tuned!

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It’s A Start: Finding A Happy Medium

Lots of talk about how we are all spending too much time on social media, our smart devices and so on. Without a doubt, this talk has credence, but Nicola Morgan, guest on our latest podcast: Episode 12: Your Online Wellbeing Inside Out turns the talk on its head.

The point that she makes is that if we spend enough time doing the things that serve us both mentally and physically—sleeping, reading, daydreaming, checking out culture near and far and so on—then we would have less time to squander on social media, on our phones. And we just might find a happy medium and enjoy our devices without a slew of negative consequences.

Let’s face it we are obsessed. Talking from experience, however, obsessions can be managed. For some time now I have been signing off an hour and a half before bedtime, early on it was two hours, and am not only reaping the benefit of getting more sleep, I am also learning to draw again. But before I reclaimed that winding down time, there was no time for drawing or for anything else for that matter.

So far, I’ve produced a drawing of my husband that actually resembles him just a little. Next up is a self-portrait.  My father-in-law would be so proud, having left me to inherit any and everything drawing.

Well before he died, he did a handsome watercolour of each of the two properties we owned during his lifetime.  Six years later, we have owned two more. Sounds like a challenge to me? We’ll see if I am up for it. In the meantime, it is quite satisfying pursuing an activity that I rather enjoy.

Admittedly, signing off well before going to bed has not been easy. I still haven’t switched off the phone completely and stashed it in another room. Bear with; I am working on it. I have reached ‘do not disturb’ and ‘silent mode’ and hidden it in a corner.

In the meantime, I thought I’d bring the idea of ‘spending more time doing what serves us individually and collectively’ home literally. So, on Independence Day after observing smart phones draped around the room and how hugely significant they have become in one family, I thought I’d intervene ever so sneakily.  So, when someone would pick hers up or his for that matter at a ping or sometimes just because, I would find a way of reengaging them, pointing out that they were distracted. Such questions were asked: Are you a part of this conversation? Are you in the game or out? We’re eating now! Can you look at your phone later?

Of course, I shared Nicola’s top tips about device and online management: 1) Switch off and put out of sight 1.5 hours before bedtime, 2) Put away at mealtimes, even a coffee with a friend, 3) Ban during a conversation.

It’s a hard sell, one of my grown-up nieces admitted. “I’ll start with thirty minutes and work up to the ninety,’ she said, as her 12-year-old stepson giggled in the back ground in disbelief.

As for me, I think she is on to something. You have to start somewhere. The key is to start! I am so glad I did. Watch this space for that self-portrait. You never know—might even get to the latest two properties. The key is to focus on doing things that serve you both mentally and physically and less on how to kick the habit of things that don’t. And before you know, you just might find a happy medium.

Check out Episode 12: Your Online Wellbeing Inside Out with Nicola Morgan and also what she had to say about participating in the podcast. It’s a start.