My iPhone Addiction and The Problem of Busy

I’ll be taking next week off from posting as I’ll be on vacation, but I look forward to sharing the results of negotiation month when I return. But first, some thoughts on lenten sacrifices, time management and taking back our micro moments.

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If you’re busy, you’re out of control.

That’s what entrepreneur and writer Derek Sivers (of CD Baby and Sivers.org) says.

He’s an advocate for the ruthless and unapologetic protection of your time. “We’re all busy. We’ve all taken on too much. Saying yes to less is the way out,” he says.

I’m certainly guilty of being a busy bee every now and again, even with all of my productivity and time management hacks. When that happens, I do feel out of control. I race through the day in high gear/automatic/reactive mode (errands, email, pickups and drop offs), and once it’s over, I feel like I’ve achieved nothing.

When I decided to only run errands one day per week, the composition of my day changed dramatically for the better.

But there was still something else sabotaging my day.

Can I Have My Micro Moments Back Please?

Here it is. My biggest, most crippling time waster of a problem – I’m an iAddict. 

I am a full-fledged, constantly on my phone, anxious when it’s not around iPhone and Internet addict. I say “yes” to too much technology and it’s only getting worse.

Google calls our mobile behavior “micro-moments“, where we “reflexively turn to a device—increasingly a smartphone—to act on a need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something.”

It’s instant gratification at its finest.

In the spirit of taking back control of my time (what Steve Jobs of all people calls our most precious resource) and since Lent is now upon us, I have decided to take drastic measures.

I deleted all of the apps on my phone. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Huffington Post. All social media. All news. All gone. I also disabled email on my phone.

(Full disclosure: I’m keeping My Fitness Pal, Spotify, Audible, Podcast, Uber and my meal delivery app.)

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Now the question is, what will I do with all of these accumulated micro moments?

Will I work on my writing? Tackle another side project? Spend more time playing games with my kids? Will I be calmer? More patient? Will I make fewer impulsive purchases? Email and text less?

Will I feel less busy and more in control?

I’ll let you know in 40 days.

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