It's no secret that, over the last 10 years or so, we have got used to walking around with the mini computer in our pocket we call phones.
The irony does not pass me by when I tell you that I am writing this on my phone.
Technology is everywhere.
Why do I write from my phone?
There are a couple of reasons for this, namely that I am chronically ill and my phone is the easiest way of typing in terms of speed and ease-of-access. I don't have to exhaust myself in front of a computer screen and make my fingers sore from typing. At least in the same way. And I can type for longer before the pains set in.
However, you may have noticed that I said that it's "easiest" way of doing this — meaning the way that I write isn't out of necessity. It is also in relation to the fact that my phone is often — if not always — by my side. And then if it is not by my side, then it is in my hand. There is something insanely useful about being able to quickly note my ideas wherever I am, before I forget them. Many of you will be able to relate to the fact that during a busy day seemingly minor thoughts float to the back of your mind until they can't ever be retrieved again.
Spent the last few days only being on my phone a very short amount of time (of at all), and I can really feel a positive difference. I am happier. I feel I am worth something (not that I always feel worthless, though I do put other's needs before mine too much. I forget what I need).
I thought I was aware of my social media usage, but obviously not.
Not to the extent that I'd prefer.
It sounds like a cliché, but I sit down with a cup of tea at 2pm, look at the clock, and it's only 4pm.
Where did the last two hours go? I was only on a five minute scroll.
I feel, to a certain extent, that the scrolling is passive — and therefore fairly relaxing. However, in doing so, I'm forgetting the type of media that I am consuming. For example, scrolling through Twitter, we would find a lot of people disagreeing (arguing aggressively; saying all things they feel safe to behind a keyboard) with each other. A lot of political debate.
All of these things are par for the course. It becomes a problem when we are scrolling too much, and our minds are subconsciously taking on too much of that information Without realising, we can get to a point where we feel like we have switched off — but our body feels tense, and our mind feels overstimulated.
To an extent, I do need to use a phone day-to-day for work. It's a hard balance: deciding when, and when not to, use my phone.
Doomscrolling
I'm doing what many would people would call 'doomscrolling'. This is the idea of scrolling through social media, looking at what other people are doing, what other people have have, and feeling bad about your own circumstances as a result. This also includes negative articles and news.
Finding a good balance
I say good balance when it comes to balancing our time on technology, because we have become so reliant on the use of technology, that it has become almost impossible to separate ourselves from computers and phones. As I mentioned above, we can use our phones for constructive means (in my case, that is using social media to promote my books, and get my face out there — as well as being a tool to write my books).
Reading a book
Again, this sounds like a cliché — and therefore might annoy you — but my point stands true.
Over the Christmas break, I went to Exeter to visit family. During this time, I had limited Wi-Fi access (like no Wi-Fi at all at times, how did I survive?). This meant that I had to find other ways of stimulating my brain (OH. MY. GOD.).
Instead of passively stimulating my brain, I was actively stimulating my brain through reading a book. It was the first time in a very long time that I actually had the the capacity to sit down and read a book from cover to cover, and it was interesting; the difference in myself and my physical well-being, in terms of headaches, and tension in my face.
This is a niche perspective, but it is something I had never realised before: reading felt productive because I was not counting the number of pages, but watching the chunk of the book that was growing on the left side of the bind as I raced through the book (The book is called The Toll House, by Carly Reagon. Highly recommend).
When I read, I find it easier to write
As a writer, sometimes the words are reluctant to come (dare I say recalcitrant), and other times my fingers can't keep up with the pace of my mind. The times in where the words have been particularly reluctant to come, are also the times where I haven't been reading.
It doesn't necessarily matter what I'm reading, as long as I'm reading something. I have a feeling it's something to do with being on both sides of the fence; when I am reading, I am in the perspective of someone who is going to read my writing and books. As a result, it nourishes my imagination.
I find as a reader, I am analysing the writing style and structure. consciously and subconsciously. As a result, this stimulates the process of discovering different ways of expressing the same idea. This can even come down to how I use a punctuation to infer a different meaning.
Sometimes, when I sit down to write, I feel like I'm literally sitting down to write, and I'm not necessarily feeling creative — or I don't have an idea of where a certain piece is going to go.
For example, I could sit down and decide to write a blog post, not having yet decided what I would like the subject matter to be. Therefore, I can't decide the direction or slant I want to take the piece on. It's these little breakthroughs that make writing and creating a lot easier and straightforward.
Although I am a practiced writer, the creation of sentences doesn't always come easy, so reading helps reinforce the thirst for words.
My phone usage had gone down by 5 hours
During the week I was in Exeter, my phone usage time went down by five hours. This is because I made the conscious decision to not to use social media at all during those few days, and only 15 minutes a day if absolutely necessary. Once I got into the reading, and into the moment, I didn't miss my phone at all. The feeling of being deeply into a book is something I dearly missed. However, it was unusual, because, quite frankly, if I leave it somewhere I was worried that someone is going to ring me or need me.
The fact that my phone usage had gone down by so much really put things into perspective.
Feeling of missing out (FOMO)
I feel like from all this stems from the idea that if we don't pick up our phone for ten minutes, or even ten seconds, we might miss a bit of news. When, in reality, a lot of the time it could be who's going out with who.
Obviously, that's not always the case, and could be perceived as a cynical generalisation. What I'm trying to say is, what we think we're missing out on is always as important as we perceive in the moment.
When I started reading, the book became more important than picking up my phone.
This is where boundaries come into play
On that note, I have started to segment my day into 30 minutes a day (again, unless it is absolutely necessary to spend more time on my phone). So, it's a half an hour a day, but split into two sets of 15 minutes. That way, I am still using my phone for what I need, but minimising the opportunity for doomscrolling, or just scrolling through random media. As I said above, because I use my phone to write a lot; perhaps I could put my phone on aeroplane mode and then focus on writing my blogs and my books...
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