Time and technology

For the assignment where we were supposed to go three days without technology, I chose to do it last week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I picked the days during the week to go without technology because they are my busiest days with school and work so I felt I would be too distracted to use technology anyway. The first day without technology was Tuesday. On tuesdays I have two classes and then I go to work after GISAT class at around 4: 00 pm. I woke up in the morning and went to grab my phone to check Instagram and Twitter, but then I remembered that it was the first day of my challenge and I immediately put it down. I decided to just turn my phone off for the day so it would not tempt me to use when I got bored throughout the day. As the day went on I realized all the different times that I would usually play games on my phone or check my social networks. I typically pass time playing with my phone when I’m in between class, waiting for my friends to meet me for lunch, or sitting in class waiting for the teacher to begin teaching. It was very difficult at first to resist the urge to turn my phone on and start using it when I was bored throughout the day. I distracted myself with various other activities to get my mind off it, such as cleaning my room or painting my nails. I also began to do homework instead of watching a movie on Netflix that night when I was in my room, which is what I usually do before going to bed. Throughout the day I found that it is not so bad to go without technology. It is strange to realize how much of my time I actually spend using my phone or my computer without even realizing it. I am practically addicted to playing games on my cell phone such as Subway Surfer and Candy Crush. They are all mindless games, but I always find myself playing them without even thinking about it or realizing that I am playing a game. I also spend so much time on Twitter and Instagram on my phone. I will check the news feeds constantly, and then find myself getting right back on a few minutes later to see if anything new has popped up. I guess the reason I am on my phone so much is to keep myself entertained and to give myself a break from the all the activity and business that I have to go through each day. I believe though, that I should find a better way to cope with my boredom than resulting to a piece of technology that does nothing productive for me. At the end of the day I was very proud of myself for not using my phone once all day which is a giant step for me. It was very relaxing and I felt free from the obsession I have with getting on my phone and constantly being updated with the lives of other people on social networking sites that have absolutely nothing to do with myself. The second day of my challenge, Wednesday, of not using technology was easier than the first day. It was also a very busy day for me with school and work so I did not have a whole lot of extra time to get on my phone or laptop. Typically even when I get on my computer to do homework, I even find myself getting on Facebook and completely disregarding the homework that I am supposed to be doing. Luckily I had no online assignments to do in the three days that I went without technology so I did not have to worry about having to get on the computer and being tempted to get on Facebook instead of doing my homework. During the day on Wednesday I again had my phone turned off. The first day I found it a challenge to not have my phone on because I never knew what time it was, so on Wednesday I decided to wear a watch. It was nice to not have to depend on my phone to do every little thing for me, especially something as simple as finding out what time it was. On Wednesdays, my first class of the day is a huge lecture class where I sit all the way in the back and the teacher has no idea that I use my phone all the time. Because of the no technology challenge, I was not able to waste my time in that class playing games on my phone. This was actually very beneficial to me because I could finally pay attention in class without being distracted. I found myself a lot more enlightened as I left the class because I knew that I had put in more effort and even learned a couple more things than I usually would have while on my phone. I also felt better about it because it is much more polite to the teacher and to the other students around me when I pay attention and don’t just sit there on my phone. On Wednesday night I went to the gym after work like I usually do. Every time I go to the gym, I bring my phone to listen to music on or play games while I am working out on a machine to pass the time. Because I did not have my phone this time, my workout seemed to drag on for a long time and I felt as if it was never going to end. It is nice to have something to distract you while you work out because the time goes by faster and it is a lot more bearable. This was definitely one of the bigger struggles for me in my time without technology because I did not know what to think about while working out without having a phone to distract me from the burn. Going a second day without my phone was definitely still a challenge for me, but it was easier than the first day because I had gotten a little bit used to it and felt more comfortable without using technology. I felt good about myself at the end of the day because I had been more productive than I would have usually been and I found myself not as tempted to play games and worry about what was going on in the lives of other people. I could focus better only on myself and the things that I needed to get done throughout the day. Thursday, the last day of my challenge without having technology, was way easier than both of the first two days combined. I was actually used to not using technology after only two days beforehand. I attended my classes with no temptation to check my phone while I was waiting for class to begin. During the day I stopped at the bookstore and picked up two post cards to write a letter to each of my grandmothers. I usually call them about once a week, but I decided they would appreciate receiving a letter in the mail instead of the usual phone call. I wrote to each of them about how I was doing and told them all about this assignment and how I was not supposed to use technology for three days. I thought that they would appreciate this assignment because they are from a time where they did not have cell phones and they know how much I use mine now a days. I got a phone call today from one of my grandmothers who received her letter. She said how much she enjoyed getting a letter in the mail and how much she loves hearing from me while I’m away at school. She thought the assignment was a great idea and that it was probably hard for me to do. During the afternoon, my friends and I took a walk around the arboretum. They are both not in the GISAT class so they were able to be on their phones. I found it interesting because we did not talk that much due to them being on their phones most of the time. They were discussing things they saw on Instagram, but I refused to partake in the conversation because I was not going to look at the picture my friend was talking about. I also found myself able to enjoy the nature around me because it was a pretty nice day. I enjoyed this time without my phone. Later that evening, I was off work so my boyfriend wanted to take me out to dinner. We went to Outback because it is one of our favorite places to eat. Normally when we go out on a date, I spend a lot of the time on my phone instead of talking and paying attention to what he has to say. This always makes him mad and he tells me to stop, which I usually do. This time, I did not even bring my phone with me because I was so used to not using it. He knew about the assignment, and did not think that I would go through with it because he knows how much I use my phone, but he was shocked and surprised that I did not even bring it to dinner. It was a lot more fun and meaningful to go out with my boyfriend without wasting that time away on my phone. It especially made him happy that I paid more attention to him and what he had to say. I know that from now on I am going to stop using my phone when I am at dinner with my boyfriend, or even with anyone for that matter, because it is very rude and disrespectful. The third day was so much easier than the first two, and I really felt like I had made a positive change in my life that I was going to stick to. When we were first assigned to go for three days without technology, I thought that I would never be able to do that. I usually use my phone literally all day and I think it is safe to say that I’m addicted to it. I used to waste so much time doing mindless activities on my phone or laptop when I could have been productive or doing school work. I feel that now that I have done this challenge, I do not have that desire to always be on my phone. Knowing all the things that I got done over just three days that I could do any day without technology has inspired me to cut back a whole lot on all the times I use my phone throughout the day. The first day of the challenge was definitely the hardest because I went from using my phone obsessively to just cutting myself off completely from it. I had no period of weaning myself off of using it so much that it was weird to just not have it on me at all. The next two days were a lot easier after being used to not using technology constantly. I really enjoyed doing this assignment. It is strange to me that I have not yet tried to cut back on technology without having it assigned to me in class, but I am very glad that it was. I got so much more stuff done than I usually would have on a regular day where I used technology all day. I know that I will never completely remove technology from my life, but I have definitely decided to take something out of this challenge and stop using it so much. It is sad that we depend so much on our electronic devices now a days that there are so many things that we feel like we cannot even do without them. We have come to the point that technology is the only thing that can keep us from being bored when we could easily go outside or go be active somewhere. I am changing some of my ways when it comes to technology and I know that I will feel a lot better all around now.