I just returned from a vacation where I was technology free for 8 days and it was truly amazing.
I had only done this once before since the time I started carrying a cell phone. However, I had never actually left it at home where I didn’t even look at my phone to see if there were any emergencies. Traveling out of the country, this created a bit of anxiety, but I got over it very quickly.
Locking my phone up in my glove box at the airport gave me a little bit of anxiety. I was wondering what I may miss and concerned about any messages coming through. It was my 40th birthday and I was also worried about coming across as rude when I received birthday wishes and didn’t respond.
It was important of course to set it up to where I had things covered as much as possible. My family and in-laws knew the hotel information to call in case of a family emergency and I had someone covering my business for me that was on my out of office on email voice mails for people to know who to contact in my absence.
As soon as I arrived at the beautiful resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, I forgot all about it. Literally, any anxiety about it disappeared and I immediately started relaxing and enjoying myself. If you are used to working a lot or being attached to your phone, this may have to be a conscious decision that you have to make for yourself, but it came pretty easy for me.
What I learned from being technology free for 8 days:
- I didn’t miss my phone. At all.
- There were no emergencies.
- Life went on just fine back home without me.
- People are so addicted to their phones that I even spotted one guy in the pool with a waterproof cover wrapped around his neck so he could have it on him while he was floating in the water.
- I found #4 to be very sad.
- I am so much more present with my husband and the people around me without the distraction of technology.
- I want to make this a yearly tradition to take time to go without technology. I think it’s healthy to see how dependent we are on it and to take a break.
- I’d like to use my phone less.
- Through discussing it with a friend upon my return, I was reminded that productivity in the workplace is astonishingly low due to being able to use cell phones during working hours.
- I survived. And, you would too. I highly recommend it!
If a whole week scares you, perhaps try starting with small bits of time. Would you be willing to give yourself a little break from your phone this weekend?
I believe anything we can do to be more present for ourselves and to others is the greatest PRESENT we can possibly give ourselves and each other.
Cheers to less phones and more real face to face connection!
P.S. If you did the 2 week meditation challenge I posted on my last blog, I would love to hear how it went for you. Feel free to shoot me an email at tessa@findyourtriessence.com.