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Friday, October 4, 2013

Take Everyone's Phone Away for a Day and See What Happens

by Nick Charney RSS / cpsrenewalFacebook / cpsrenewalLinkedIn / Nick Charneytwitter / nickcharneygovloop / nickcharneyGoogle+ / nickcharney

Sometimes I realize that I've let technology creep far too deeply into my life. Somewhere along the way my smartphone became intrusive; I fell prey to the moral hazard of the early adopters.

A tiny little screen took over my life.

But when I realized that I was serving it instead of it serving me, I knew something had to change.

The small changes are easy.

My phone is now completely silent from 10PM at night until 8AM in the morning; giving me 10 hours of uninterrupted time to use as I see fit.

The result? My phone is no longer the last thing I touch at night before bed, nor is it the first thing I touch in the morning.

I don't keep it on me over the weekends; rather it tends to sit on a shelf, or on top of the fridge. It's less of a distraction when I'm playing with my kids or speaking with my wife.

I'm consciously limiting its use in social settings, because over time I've come to understand that nothing is more important at any given moment than the person in front of you.

It's a lesson that applies equally well in the workplace, as it does at home.

Maybe we should take everyone's phone away for a day and see what happens.


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