I Went A Day Without Any Screens. Here's What I Learned.
My fiancé approached me on Friday night and suggested we go a full day without any screens. No phones, no computers, no tablets, no TV. I was up for the challenge. In fact, I even got a little excited. What a fascinating journey it will be to watch my mind!
My main goal going into it was to get to know the nature of my mind a bit more. Here's what I learned.
From the moment we agreed to take on the challenge, the thoughts started to creep in. Well, more like flood in.
I don't think it will be that hard. I bet I can do it no problem. I'm not worried about anything, other than people trying to contact me in the case of an emergency.
Right away, I got to see my mind's first attempt at scaring me. It immediately brought about the "emergency" scenario. Of course, this wouldn't be the only time it did that, as I'm all too familiar with its games.
For me, this was a great insight into just how dramatic my mind can be. What would your mind have said after committing to a day without screens?
Fast forward to the morning of, and there we were, waking up to each other, with no phones in sight. We had turned them off and hidden them the night before, along with our laptops, so that we didn't have access to any devices. No TV either.
Waking up was nice. I felt a sense of freedom, like I was about to cleanse my soul by removing my dependency to screens. Just me, my fiancé, and an open day ahead of us.
As I went about my morning business - brushing my teeth, using the toilet, drinking water, and the normal stuff - my mind found it amusing.
Ah, this isn't so bad. In fact, it's nice to be able to focus on these simple matters without needing a screen nearby. I like this!
As we got ready for the day, my mind seemed to be on my side, telling me to get out, enjoy the weather, and focus on my fiancé. Who needs any screens, anyway?
Okay, I thought. I'm good without any screens. Let's do this!
So off we went on a few errands - phones left behind. At this point, it started to feel a little wrong. Leaving the house with my right pocket empty, and no way to call in case of an emergency? This was a big step. My mind didn't like that. It felt vulnerable, naked and exposed.
What if we get stranded on the side of the road and need to call for help? There my mind went again, being all melodramatic. I smirked at it and continued out the door. We were prepared, and committed to finishing the entire day.
Once we were out and about, being without a phone was no issue at all. My mind gave me virtually no trouble since it was preoccupied with running errands and driving. It wasn't until we got back home in the afternoon when the real difficulty set in.
It was at this point when my mind kicked into overdrive. A sense of claustrophobia swept over me as if I was trapped in a room where my devices normally act as the way out. Only this time, there were no devices. There was no way out.
Enter thoughts of panic.
What if something bad happened and my family is trying to reach me? Now my mind cues up images of 13 voicemails and 50 missed text messages.