MKE Week 22 – Silent Saturday

I did it. I went a whole 24 hours without my phone, books or laptop. You know what? I did not die. I was not lonely. In fact, I had more social experiences, got more done, (hey watercolor painting, organizing of clothes, washing of dishes) and just enjoyed my life a heck of a lot more (hey trees I climbed, food I ate outdoors, tea and face masks.)

There were a few moments, especially in the morning and late at night, where I really really really wanted to check my phone. These are the times I usually use my phone as a distraction and comfort. Instead I sat with my thoughts, stared at the moon, and slept in till I wanted to get up.

Once I gave into the experience of not checking my phone first thing to convince me to get up, it was delicious to lay in bed until I wanted, truly wanted, to get up. Once I committed myself to not looking at my phone for comfort before I went to sleep, I spent some time staring into the moonlight and fell asleep with a smile on my face.

The day after this experiment I let myself have the phone back as much as I wanted, but I found it had lost its allure. Now that I know that I can soothe, entertain, and connect better without it, I no longer search within it for the answers that I know I can more readily find in the real world.

The only thing I think I missed was the ability to use the tuner and tabs for my guitar, although learning to listen without those aids was also a really cool experience. I usually rely so heavily on them, and I found watching the waves with my incense going was actually more fun than staring at the screen while I played, even if I could not remember any chords to any songs.

Even connecting with others was seamless. Sure I could not communicate with my friend who came from out of town to see me, but we just planned around my lack of phone and made it happen. When I did see people, the interactions were more meaningful. The next day when we got coffee and I had my phone back it was almost harder to coordinate and meet up!

I will definitely be incorporating a “silent Saturday” into as many of my weekends as possible. I may even extend it from Friday night-Sunday night because I loved it that much. I wouldn’t mind also having a no reading after 8pm rule, or something similar, but I am not sure how that would work as I am doing so much school right now.