Summer has officially made itself known to most or all of the country at this point. Here in Virginia, we’ve already seen a blitz of weather advisories alerting us to heat indexes soaring into the 110º range.
With the kids out of school, my wife and I tend to break up the monotony of the day by planning an activity to get them out of the house to expel that contained energy. We rotate through the pool, the parks, the zoo and the beach…but with temperatures like that, it’s often more comfortable to stay inside and relish in the comforts of conditioned air. We enjoy the library, the indoor trampoline parks, the restaurants with attached playgrounds, and museums.
9 times out of 10, if we don’t have the kids engaged in a summer day camp or in our planned daily activity, we find them huddled en masse in their bedrooms or playroom – inevitably holding their second-hand cell phones, tablets or glued to the television holding video game controllers.
We’ve set certain standards and enforced rules. We’ve outlined a number of responsibilities and chores that the kids must accomplish before they’re allowed to get online. And we’ve even installed a device that allows us (the parents) to control wi-fi access on an individual basis, setting start-stop times and giving us the upper hand to ‘shut it all down’ as punishment for fighting, etc.
We have gone to great lengths to control their presence online, yet here I am, staring at the screen on my computer. And later, I’ll be checking my phone to stay current on social media posts or perhaps using my tablet to secretly play war games that I’ve downloaded.
The reality is that I’m sort of a hypocrite. I’m focusing a ton of energy towards lording over the kids screen time, when it feels like I AM THE ONE that could use a little bit of moderation.
It couldn’t be a better time to commit myself to taking the Xfinity Mobile ‘Phone Cleanse’.
The Cleanse highlights the love-hate relationship that most of us probably have with our mobile device. Our phones are simultaneously the most important tools in our lives, but they’re also a point of frustration.
We rarely stop to take a moment and rethink the relationship that we have with these devices. This is an attempt to do just that.
Over the next week, I’m going to be taking the 7-day Phone Cleanse and sharing with you some of my thoughts about the steps, but also how it’s altered my perception of how I use my mobile device.
If you’re interested in joining me, drop a comment below or in my social share and I can have a hard copy of the book sent to you (limited copies)!
Were you aware that the average person has 100 apps on their phone, yet only uses 9 each day? When reading that, I thought ‘there’s no way that I have that many apps on my phone’. Upon further investigation, I currently have 117 apps. DUDE.
All the more reason for me to call this DAY 1. The first step in this cleanse is to delete 10 apps that I either don’t use or can’t live without. Aside from the obvious storage space that this clears up, it also means that I’m holding a more efficient and streamlined device.
It wouldn’t be sustainable to delete 10 apps every day from your phone, but once you’ve trimmed the fat, consider setting a calendar reminder once a month to take inventory. Or perhaps think about going app-for-app, deleting one every time you add one.
As this first step goes – it’s wasn’t painful at all. In fact, I’ve got that feeling like I just left the barber shop with a fresh cut – light and airy. So I’ve only got six days to go towards being able to approach each phone interaction with more purpose.
I might even bring my kids into the fold on this one…we can rejuvenate together – haha! To access the online version of the cleanse, find it HERE.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was a sponsored post on behalf of Xfinity Mobile and its Phone Cleanse campaign, however, the mobile freedom is all mine. Access a copy of the cleanse HERE. And for more information on Xfinity Mobile, check them out HERE.
The next step is to find a career and employer that fit your idea of balance. Perhaps it’s a company with a generous time off policy that discourages people from staying late. Perhaps it’s a career that allows you to work from home, or a workplace that encourages socialization outside the office and invites friends and loved ones into the company dynamic.
Wondering if you still have any books left. I’m interested in doing it.