One month without a phone

Because I wanted to validate my own findings that using social media less makes us happier, I already spent a week without social media. It’s an experiment I can only advise you to undertake for yourself. Now you may think that I decided to take it even further. But it wasn’t a choice, really. My phone just died.

And you know, I’m half-German.
I don’t like to spend money if I don’t have to. So, I used my phone until the VERY end. After I purchased my new phone, my old one gave up entirely. You may think that that was great timing, but no, it wasn’t because that meant I lost all phone numbers. And no, I didn’t backup because I live life on the edge.

I spent about two months with a semi-working phone.
The last couple of weeks, the battery of my phone was so weak that I couldn’t use it without a power bank. Whenever I got called, I went into panic mode, trying to connect the phone to my power bank as quickly as possible. Usually, my phone died before I could make it but even if I did I was usually too slow to answer the phone. Basically, nobody was able to call me.

I had to schedule time in the office to use the landline.
Everyone thought I was crazy and I probably was. But I committed to not getting a new phone. I felt like I was in the 90s again. There just wasn’t a way to communicate with me without seeing me (or writing me on Facebook). In the end, people stopped trying to reach me all in all. That made me feel quite lonely, to be honest.

At some point, I started leaving my house without a phone. I had to make plans and not change them. That was actually quite fun and a good way to deal with FOMO. I followed the people I was with, let them decide what we were gonna do and just went with the flow. I wasn’t there to reach anyone. If people really wanted to see me, they had to find a way.

My clients probably were annoyed about this situation.
They already know I’m a little… special. They know since the moment they hired me: on my business cards it says that my working hours are from noon to 10 PM (no, I’m not kidding, I don’t like mornings). In a month without a phone though, I had to re-schedule all calls to online meetings and email conversations. That was when I started to realize I actually needed a new phone.

What was left of my old phone. Also, please ignore my dusty desk.

I had already eyed the new Huawei series for quite some time. And just on the day they hit the market, my best friend wrote me that she was shopping for a new phone. I knew it was a sign from the universe that I had to get one too. So, I told her to go day-drinking for an hour until I could be there and get a new phone too. I went with the Huawei P20 lite and I must say that it’s the best phone I ever had and I love it (not sponsored – I wish it were though! Hit me up, Huawei and don’t judge me for not knowing how to pronounce your company’s name).

In contrast to ‘A Week without Social Media’ this is an experiment I wouldn’t recommend unless you wanna feel lonely, piss off your clients and live in a social bubble. The only thing I enjoyed was going out without having my phone on me. Do you ever do that? Or do you wanna be reachable at all times?

BenLeander

Title image by thefunnyplace.net