Spend a Day Without Your Phone

            It’s been said a lot: actions speak louder than words. But in this case, I mean it figuratively and literally. Your action of taking break from your phone will actually cause you to speak louder! Phone usage has gotten to the point where I am convinced that people are slowly losing their social skills due to, well, their lack of socializing.  People constantly have their heads buried into their iPhone or Android or anything else that is used for everything except making phone calls. If people stopped using their phone for a day, a week, a month…what could happen? I promise you, the apocalypse is not the answer.

You Will Be Social At Meals

Are you at a meal right now, reading this on your phone? Okay, well look up. Did you? Every single person you are eating with is on his or her phone too, right? Isn’t that kind of sad? I mean, have you said a word to anyone with whom you are eating? You probably sent a text asking them to pass the ketchup. Here is what you should do: take a bowl and put all your phones in that bowl, on silent (or off). Gasp! The world hasn’t ended yet. You will actually be social at a meal for once. Talk about your dreams, your life, something you learned today. You may even find what someone says to you interesting! The possibilities are endless. But that meal will be more memorable if you are talking to the people around you rather than picking what filter to make your actually ugly pre-Instagram picture.

You Won’t Overanalyze Stupid Texts

How often do you read a recent text and say, “wait, what does that mean?” or “Oh my gosh, that was so rude!” or “I’m going to wait ten minutes and then answer.” Guess what? The text means what it said; it wasn’t that rude; and why don’t you answer right away like a normal person? People spend all day texting and wondering what the hidden meaning is in every message. If you actually had a conversation face to face, there will most likely be no confusion. I know I know, this concept is a little foreign to us, but I promise talking to someone’s face instead of a screen is not that intimidating. Actually, it’s quite refreshing. Do it.

You May Remember What Reading Is Like

Sometimes I spend a day alone and read a book. No really, I swear. It happens. News flash: books still exist. And reading a book can actually be rewarding. More rewarding than exceeding maximum texting on your phone plan. These things that you read and then flip the page in order to continue to read can teach you so much! My advice: turn your phone off for a day, find a book, and just read. You could get so into this book and not even realize a full day has passed. Need some recommendations? I could go on for days, but here are a few: Laura Hillenbrand’s “Unbroken,” any of Gillian Flynn’s books, and Jojo Moyes’s “Me Before You.” Read them all. You will forget you even had a phone. And then come back to me for more book suggestions (that’s me being genuine).

You Will Enjoy Your Food and Location More

Believe it or not, you actually look ridiculous taking a picture of your food in front of you or the view you see, just to spend the next half hour editing that average picture and then posting it on any social media just to get “likes.” In the time you were editing that burger and fries, the actual meal will be half gone because your family started picking at your plate. Took a picture of the sun setting? Okay, well you missed the beautiful part of the sun actually setting because you were too busy making the sun brighter in your picture. Put your phone down and savor each bite of that juicy medium-cooked burger. Drown your fries in ketchup and let some get on your shirt. Enjoy the present, not the future likes. How amazing was that? Want to do it again? Go to the view outside and just watch the sun set…with your eyes. Gorgeous, right? No filter needed. Sometimes all you need is a memory in your head, not a filtered one on screen. Appreciate what’s around you instead of a mini screen in the palm of your hand.

The reasons to ditch your phone go on forever, but I think you get the hint. So, drop the life distraction for a day. See what happens.