Lane Wood’s last photo with his iPhone 5.
Preface by Tim/Editor
This guest post is by Lane Wood, societal entrepreneur, CMO of Humin, and alum of Warby Parker and charity:water.
I recently went four weeks without phone, computer, or calendar, while in Indonesia. But what if you’re in a major US city? Can you go phoneless? Lane shares his experience doing exactly that…
Enter Lane
Just over a month ago, I was in a precarious situation. You see, I’m new to the freelance game and through a series of novice moves, I found myself without a big client and no work lined up for July. It was a rough month.
I had already planned a mini personal retreat with some friends and decided to just go for it— and try to find some solace in the beautiful mountains surrounding Lake Shasta. Early one morning, I was in paradise as I breathed in the mountain air, looked for miles over the mountains and I snapped the photo above. Little did I know it’d be the last picture my poor iPhone would take.
Our crew decided to rent a boat, and we headed out with a tube and a wakeboard. When we were about 300 yards from the marina, the boat engine started having trouble and we thought there was a rope caught in the propeller. I decided to be a hero and dove into the water. With my iPhone 5.
Given my freelancer cash flow issues, a newly signed contract with Verizon and no insurance, I chose not to spend $700 on a new device. I powered up my iPad mini (with 4G) and spent the next month in San Francisco without a phone.
When I mention this to people, heads tilt to the side, eyes bulge and mouths are left gaping open.
“Wait, what? How… I mean… Really? No Phone?”
Yep.
Now with intense curiosity, they lean in.
“What’s it like?”
They sound as if I’ve just told them I’m on ecstasy.
But I get it. Not a lot of people have had this experience. So I’d like to share what I’ve learned…
How I did it…
Texting: iMessage + Path.
Phone calls: Scheduled Google+ Hangouts and Skype calls.
Camera: Shameful and limited iPad camera usage.
MVP award for this experience goes to DODOcase. I’ve had it with me this whole time disguising the iPad mini. People assume that I’m carrying a journal around, and at a moment’s notice am ready to write down all of my profundities. I keep it tucked away in the back of my jeans and under my shirt.
Lesson #1: Mindless Phone Usage (MPU) is stealing our humanity
When one uses a tablet in public, everyone notices. It is not subtle. So if I want to text a friend, check my email or read an article, I have to answer this question: “Is this moment appropriate for me to have this big device in my hands?” Conversations will stop. Strangers will look. I will be “that guy.”
Result: I’ve stopped mindlessly checking Twitter. I’ve stopped using Facebook on mobile at all. I don’t refresh my inbox. I don’t fill awkward silences with technology. I’m mindful of the affect of my tech behavior on the people around me. I’m much more present, and I’ve grown incredibly irritated at my friends when they have their phone out for absolutely no reason.
Tinder. Twitter. Tumblr. Tinder. Twitter. Tumblr.
Refresh. Swipe right. Like. Heart.
MPU. Ugh.
I can’t stress how important this shift has been for me.
Lesson #2: Vibrate is the secret killer of mental clarity
Yes, it’s absurd to let our phone ring aloud in any public situation. So we put our phone on vibrate. Even still, we are interrupted by completely inane and non-urgent notifications pleading for our attention.Vibrate is the phone’s temper tantrum. And we reward it by giving our attention, rather than putting it in time out (do not disturb).
Result: Without a vibrating device in my pocket, I’m unaware of messages, notifications and the kicking and screaming that the operating system is doing all day long. I get out my iPad when I need to check in. I may not get back to your text within 30 seconds, and for 99% of situations, that’s acceptable. I’m more focused, less stressed and decidedly present.
Lesson #3: We use 5% of the photos we take and waste some of the best moments viewing real life on a screen
The best camera is the one that you have with you. Unless it’s a tablet.
I live on Alamo Square Park, and at about any point in the day, you can see tourists taking photos of the Full House houses with their tablets. Inexplicably it happens at concerts. Each time, I laugh and judge. Until recently.
Having only a tablet on hand creates a very interesting camera dilemma. I must ask myself, “Self, why do you need a photo of this? Is it worth the scorn of your friends and strangers alike?”
Result: I don’t take many photos. While at Outside Lands music festival, I took only eight pictures in three days of festival revelry. And honestly, I think that it was enough. I have proof that I saw a Beatle and I have a couple of photos of my friends, The Lone Bellow and Kopecky Family Band, playing on stage.
Instagram users have yet to organize a revolt at the absence of my content.
Lesson #4: Having separation anxiety from a device is ridiculous and serious
Imagine this scenario: You’re at a friend’s house for dinner and your phone is in the car.
How do you feel? Need a Xanax? Are you plotting your escape to rescue your lonely device?
We’ve lost the ability to be fully present. This is not news. After a month of not having a phone, I don’t notice the empty pocket. I walk out of my room regularly without a device. Walk through the park. Eat dinner. No devices. I don’t feel phantom vibrations.There is a serious psychological and emotional difference when I’m not shackled to a device that is constantly begging for my attention.
I know this unintentional yet transformative experiment has been as much of a disruption for my family, friends and clients as it has been for me. So, after 31 full days, I’m currently tracking a FedEx truck bringing to me a shiny new iToy. I wonder if I have the discipline to retain new healthier tech habits. I can already feel the faint buzzing on my right leg.
If you see me out, falling back into MPU tendencies, you have permission to call it out. In hopes that we can all work through this together, I’ve started a list of ways you can gain discipline without spending a month sans phone.
How to “discipline hack” without giving up your phone:
1. Turn your screen brightness all the way up when you go out at night. You will be very painfully aware of the fact that you’re using a phone and it will drain your battery. These consequences will help you use your phone only when necessary, and your friends will be more likely to call you out for having your phone out.
2. Experiment with using Do Not Disturb functionality and turn your notifications off. Don’t reward your phone for throwing tantrums.
3. Make an agreement with family and friends to call each other out for MPU.
4. Leave a comment below to suggest your own hack!
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AFTERWORD BY TIM: Have you ever gone without phone or computer? If so, how did you manage it? If you were to go 2-4 weeks without electronics, how would you approach it? Please share your thoughts below…
This post originally appeared on Medium. Published here with permission.
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
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To tell you the truth I thought you were left completely without any kind of service. Anyway personally I always keep my phone silent. Having to respond immediately to messages and calls either if I’m working or doing something I love, it’s stressfull. In my mind I think ” I will call back” or “I can read the messages when I’m free” . It seems like a “Must” to ahve to answer anytime somebody text you. You become a slave. It’s useless to be available at any time, 24/7. I take a look at my phone more or less every two hours to see if anyone needs me . I work at home so it’s easier. For pics well, I think it’s fair to capture the important moments, but get caught up in anxiety because you feel the need to photograph everything it is ridiculous. Not to mention the loss of awareness. Only two days ago, a friend of mine came to see me. He has a thing to always check facebook. When he has to face moments of awkward silence , he picks up the phone and checks facebook. He does it all the time, with everyone, in every situation. I have always been recommended to keep my phone in my purse when I’m with other people , if I am eating or when someone is talking to me . This friend of mine , almost automatically , in a moment of silence , picks up the phone to see. I think it has become an addiction to many. A strange habit . A small dog to give attention to. When I went to Portugal this summer, I spent two weeks without internet and facebook . Never been better. My advice is to take control over your time. We are free to choose. We need to understand what’s necessary and what is not. But many people aren’t ready. It’s like being enslaved without being aware of this. I think a phone is useful because if you’re in danger or you need help or somebody needs you, you can know that even if you’re out of your home. But constantly having it in your hands, it’s certainly unhealthy. Thank you for your story
Yes, the “the loss of awareness” when we are photographing or videoing something in which we should be fully engaged. It’s sad. How much of real life have I missed because I thought I had to “capture the moment”?
I think major of our today’s problems will be resolved if we reduce the use to these distracting communication tools in our lives.
I thought I’d try a move from St. Louis to Denver. About 4 months and 3 weeks through what ended up being a six month excursion out of state, I lost my job and was forced to choose between rent and dog food, or paying a phone bill. Since I spent the rest of my savings on items to start selling on ebay, the choice was obvious, just use wifi and keep studying to figure out ebay full time. What a blessing.
Although the transition to full time entrepreneurship hasn’t fully happened yet since I’m visiting home for Christmas before moving back to St. Louis. It has made life less stressful not having a phone. It’s been 2 weeks and after reading this I want to go 2 more weeks to get a full phone cleansing experience. Before my service was shut off I had been using airplane mode a lot for the health reasons mentioned in the four hour body but always flipped it back on to check when arriving anywhere. No more waiting for calls or texts back, its kinda nice, email, iMessage and facebook have worked just fine, I’m urgent about my life and not everybody else’s and it hasn’t once been a problem meeting up with friends. Walking through the airport was an eye opener. I like to use my phone to listen to educational videos or to study skateboarding videos but not when I’m with people. It was interesting to see families with their heads down and phones up not talking to each other while I traveled alone and wished I could see and talk to my family at that moment. It’s the most, wonderful time, of the year.
I haven’t had to screen one call yet!
Being old enough to remember the era before cellular (hey they were “radio phones” before they were “car-phones”) I have an advantage over my children and their tethered lives yet I still find myself getting caught up in the silliness. Thus, I dial everything back to a simpler time: in sales I do not have the option of not carrying my work phone but, I do have the option of manipulating its settings to minimize its intrusions. Simply, the phone only “vibrates” when a call comes in – otherwise it is silent, all other “notifications” are turned off. I use an ear bud (Bluetooth or wired depending on situation) and it will ring in my ear if I am concerned about not noticing the buzz. When I want to concentrate on something, or decompress, I invoke the “do not disturb” button.
First off I’ve gone nearly a year without a phone. I have a phone. But I rarely use it. I turn it on once a week to make a phone call otherwise I manage my ‘texts’ in Google Voice. I manage other personal messages in Facebook. And the rest of my business chats I manage in Google Chat.
It’s pretty simple and easy. The rest of the time phones just distract me from being productive.
I haven’t used a cell phone properly for a couple years. As I travel all the time and spend 24/7 with my husband I found I didn’t really need one of my own. Once you’re out of the loop of society they’re so unnecessary. We have one iPhone between us and pretty much just use it as a camera, apps for our son or if we get really stuck with directions. Most of the time we keep it in flight mode so the battery lasts longer. We manage to run multiple businesses without ANY need for phone contact with clients which is a real bonus.
I’ve gone for two different weeks without a phone, both times while on mission trips in Haiti. It was wonderful both times. The first time, in 2012, I took a disposable camera to “capture the moments”. The second time, in 2013, I did not even take a camera.
Your article made me think of a couple of related stories. I used to take a video camera to my kids’ dance and music and sports performances, thinking that I needed to archive the events. It took me years to figure out that in the process of viewing the performance through the video, or even when I looked directly at the live event but still had part of my focus on the pointing and zooming of the camera, I missed out on being totally engaged in the moment. It was like I was watching something from a distance, like a TV show. I missed the reality of it. I finally wised up and stopped recording everything. Nowadays, if I want to capture something on video, I shoot a few seconds and then put the phone camera down, so I can enter fully into the event unfolding before me.
Also, I remember a story I read years ago (before cell phones) about a company VP who lost his briefcase. He panicked, knowing that his meeting notes and schedule and customer contact information were all in that briefcase. He found his briefcase one month later in the trunk of his car, and he realized that not only had his company and his professional life not fallen apart, but both had survived quite well.
I went three weeks without using my phone or a computer while I was at an ashram in India. I’ll be there for six months next year and will probably send about two emails per month. Won’t miss my iPhone at all. It’s gonna be awesome!
Ahhh, mindfulness!
I’m old enough to remember the days when THE one phone in our house was an ear piece on a cradle attached to the wall. If you picked it up, an “operator” would say “number please?”. (I think she already knew my grandma’s number across town, by memory.) The phone bill was around $3 or $4 a month in those days. I have a cell phone, (not a smart one) through Verizon, but only use about 200 of my 700 monthly minutes. I used it to call 911 a few weeks ago. I really don’t talk to many people, don’t use the home computer for much but a couple email folks. I long ago used up all the picture memory taking pictures of my cats and husband.
I have often wondered what it would feel like to go back to only landline (have one, but never use it.) I don’t think it would bother me much and would feel quite natural to only talk to folks on landline and write letters like we used to do.
Recently I went on vacation to the island of Great Exuma, Bahamas. Internet (wifi) is not as accessible and I was terrified of “roaming charges”. So, for a week I only had internet in the evenings back at our room and only made facetime calls/imessage at night to loved ones. I work in IT and found myself very refreshed with the lack of technology for a week. I cannot wait until my next “break”. 🙂
Just went two months in China with just an iPod touch. No computer, no tablet, no phone. I did have internet at my hostel, but even then Facebook was (thankfully) disabled because it was China.
Bottom line: I loved it. I didn’t worry or think about if someone had texted me or if someone had liked a photo on Instagram, I wasn’t nearly as distracted, and I was able to enjoy life more while I was out. I just prearranged meetings or skype with family and friends. I don’t think I’ll be picking up a new phone for awhile, and if I do it certainly won’t be a smartphone!
This post is really awesome!
I am sorry for the lost of your iPhone 5, but I guess the lessons are worth it aren’t they?
I’m very attached to my phone, so I’ll start applying some of your techniques!
Agree with some people that running a business its pretty difficult to go without a phone. Using social media whilst giving the mob a break is the way to go.
For a while I couldn’t let go of my phone. I would check for text and email compulsively, even when I wasn’t waiting for a response from anyone in particular. Things got a lot better when I started to realize that going without a phone wasn’t hard, it was letting go of anxiety about missing out. Once I started to realize that my phone was a crutch for that anxiety I immediately ditched it, or rather, I left it at home and used it exclusively as a land line for one month – no text, no mobile email, no cell phone (I would call people back if they texted or called me while I was out). It really helped to see that my friends knew where to find me, even if I wasn’t connected all the time. My social life actually got a little better since I stopped trying to manage it as carefully and was generally less worried about it.
Hey Tim! Wanna know something? I do not have skype, or a cell phone, or any wireless device. It`s great. Too many people just chatter on those things. Perhaps they want to appear important to others? My world is quieter too.
Tim,
First & foremost I avoided reading your 4 Hour Body book because it was so damn thick. I hate starting something that I perceive I won’t finish. Stupid me ….
My son got me the 4 Hour Chef for Christmas & I dove in because I love to cook. Now I am reading both books simultaneously & absolutely love them. You don’t know me but I do not suck up. That said, your books are on the top of my favorite books list & I have some real gems & many out of print.
Anyway in the interest of brevity, I will ask only one of my zillion questions … ok – 2.
1. Constant nasal congestion – need direction as to a “cure”.
2. I have followed the slow carb diet, lost 25 lbs in a 6 weeks & seemed to have plateaued (I am 6′ 4″, 225 lbs now & am 59 years old). I am driven as a hailstorm in Texas so it drives me a bit nuts trying to hit my target of 215 lbs. Suggestions in 20 words or less? Heck, you can point the pages for me to read, I don’t mind.
Two final thoughts –
A. I am a swimmer & changed my stroke according to Takeuchi’s method & it is truly unbelievable, in fact, mind blowing. I can go 1.5 miles in a pool without getting the least bit tired or winded & I LOVE the stroke.
B. I had the very rare opportunity to speak with Dr. Esselstyn twice – one on one – for an hour each time to discuss diet. I had bypass 13 years ago, read his book & followed the recommendations. He told me the bottom line to reversing heart disease – total cholesterol under 150 & triglycerides under 90.
I noticed you wrote that you got your total cholesterol under 150 & still ate meat (he advocates a vegan diet). When I followed his diet I was at 147 & my triglycerides were 95 which prompted my email & he called me.
Ok, enough of me & sorry for the lengthy post ~
PS
Sorry for being off topic.
I’d turn off both the wireless and data, put then phone on DND (no vibrations) and only check once every 4-5 hours….
This would preserve battery life and your presence within reality as well.
I did not own a cell phone for 2 years, even though I have a family of four and worked at the time for a Fortune 500. My logic:
– I worked approximately 10 hours each day. Where there was a phone.
– When not at work, I was at home. Where there was a phone.
– I had a 10 mile commute to work. I can easily run or walk much farther than this if needed.
– If I was not in one of the above scenarios, I was having fun or sleeping, neither of which I wanted to interrupt.
My company has since bought me a phone, but at least they are paying the bills for the leash.
I find this article amusing yet strangely sad that this is what has become the norm. I’ve had the luxury of not being allowed to carry a phone into my work place. Only now that I’m going through a career transition I am starting to develop a dependency on my phone. Thanks for the heads up! I didn’t know it could get so bad.
Also, being deployed turned my brand new iPhone 5 (which I preordered and everything) into a handy alarm clock and flashlight which had a select few games that didn’t require wifi. It stayed under my pillow or inside of my rack/locker where I slept.
My suggestion would be to leave new tech in your room. If you must check email, do it at a desktop. If you must check facebook, do it at a desktop. The only thing a phone does uniquely is call people, text people, and waste time with games. I love the article but using an iPad was cheating!
I find myself agreeing with most everything in the post but have a had time processing whether it applies to the real world of hustle. I own and operate a company offering travel services, and clients are 9 times out of 10 ready to reserve with you once they can get an instant response, otherwise they’ll look somewhere else for a company that will provided almost instant feedback.
How does the above apply to goal oriented hard driving business professionals?
My iPhone was dropped in the river while Tenkara fishing this year. I realized that the phone was broken at the same time I realized that I would no longer be receiving phone calls, texts, email notifications, no more instagram or FB for a few days until I got a new phone. It was a blissful moment and looking back I wish I never got the phone fixed.
After reading this post I think I’m going to work something out to permanently eliminate it.
I went a month without a phone while studying abroad in Europe to save money and hassles. The complications of figuring out how to use a cell phone in a foreign country without getting an outrageous bill upon return was too intimidating. I had spent some time researching it, but got frustrated so I just said screw it.
To communicate I used Facebook messenger on my tablet and laptop instead. I didn’t feel self conscious about using a tablet in public like Lane (I really don’t understand why it’s an issue…). FB messenger doesn’t work as well as texting though, since the person doesn’t always get your message as soon as with texting. I also had a separate digital camera for pictures.
I did feel a bit handicapped without a phone. If I could do it all over again I would’ve just bought a cheap temporary phone while I was there.
I don’t have too much trouble with having to have my phone is social situations. I sometimes forget it in the car. But……..I have been in some social situations and observed others who will check their iphone in the middle of a conversation, right in the middle of a conversation. they will sort of look back at you, like “I want to hear what you have to say, but, I must read this!!!! It is so rude. I sat at a business dinner with one of my employees who wasn’t being spoke to direcly, but there were 10 business associates at the table, and he spent most of the dinner, looking between his legs, every now and then sort of glancing up at the rest of us. My hair was on fire…….he now has to leave his phone in the room when we go on business meetings. he’s 27 yrs old!!!!!
I saw Baratunde did this and wrote about it in a cover story on Fast Company recently. I’ve only gone a day or two without phone or email and it feels amazing.
spent the whole xmas without phone, I also turn it off for long periods, my clients are warned about my working hours. I tell them a call out of hours is parts thereoff my hourly bill. Strange only had one client whine about it, I achieve more and get more work done with out distraction. I also only read email between 1100 and 1200 this speeds up workflow, if you need something doing call me, less stress, and you need a warm up and cool down from work mentally and phones set you back.
For me it’s funny when say “I’ve grown incredibly irritated at my friends when they have their phone out for absolutely no reason”. A Cuban comedian named Alvares Guedes actually has a Joke in one of His CD’s where he is criticizing people in a restaurant during lunch using their cellphones talking loud the phone ringing several times. He says @#$%& if your not coming to have lunch, just don’t come to the restaurant to disturb other people that want to have a peaceful lunch and he goes on and on. Of course he was cursing saying it. Me personally have been without a Cellphone for 3 days and I have been more focused at work. I’m not going to lie sometimes I feel as if the phone would be vibrating on my right leg because that’s were I keep my cellphone when I have it active. The only painful part of this is not been able to know what my kids have done in the first three hours of the day. I have to admit cellphone companies have created a great dependency for their services and it is up to us to divert. I will have my phone activated again within 2 to 3 weeks, I will see how it goes, I will report back.
Lately I have been forcing myself to ease up on my phone usage, I deleted facebook for a good week and it felt great, then I decided I wanted to open an etsy store so I activated FB again to use for marketing. I am checking it far less though, I’m trying to be more aware of when I am using it, and other social media sites, as procrastination tools.
As for texts, emails and phone calls, the only person who urgently ever needs me is my partner so when we are together I have been trying to keep my phone in another room. It feels good to switch off.
I must admit, I understand why people think this is crazy, but also why it’s something people would aspire to doing. Having said that though, I imagine I’d find it a lot easier that many other people.
My phone is a £12.50 basic model from Tesco (I’m in the UK, in case you hadn’t worked it out). It makes calls and sends texts. It has a VGA camera, which occasionally gets used as a joke. I have never, not had any intention of, owning a smart phone. It just doesn’t interest me.
By profession I’m a software developer for a company who develop an online gaming app, so I have plenty of exposure to smart phones; in fact, I’m normally then guy who ends up teaching other people how to use features of their new phones, despite not owning one myself.
Consequently, I notice people always on their phones, or watching things through the screen of their tablet, and I just don’t understand it. I don’t take many photos of anything really, I’d rather have the memories and share in the experience than I would have a grainy video to never watch again.
I just went 6 months without a phone. Mostly by choice, a little due to circumstances.
I have to agree with everything you said about the experience. In the begining there is a little anxiety, but it dissipates in a couple of weeks, and the sense of freedom is great.
I tell my friends that the phone is like the leash on the dog of an impatient owner. It pulls, you respond. It’s just ridiculous.
I also don’t have an ipad and rely entirely on SKype and email for any sort of communication which is working surprisingly well. I remember to carry a few coins so I can make a call from a public phone if I need to.
There have only been a couple of instances where I was strandded because I could not connect with friends I needed to meet, but it was no big deal.
If you can afford to dump your phone, I highly recommend it!
Other self-hacking experiments I recommend are:
Sit at home in late evening in absolute darkness. (No TV, music, lights. Nothing.)
Remove all mirrors at home so there isn’t any place you can catch your reflection
Thanks for a great article. Look forward to more.
Interesting! I think the phone and email are big stressors, so I use to turn off the phone quite often, really relaxing!
Rgds,
Amanda
Something better than not using your mobile phone:
I took a weekend trip to a national park with zero mobile coverage. Wifi coverage in the lodge was advertised yet non functional.
Being some where no one is on a phone is surreal and completely wonderful at the same time.
At minimum I suggest to everyone —
-Leave your phone on silent
-Disable push e-mail
-Uninstall Facebook, Twitter, and any other social apps
-If your device forces social usage, like Google+, don’t link the account and/or delete it
-Mobile games are for children, and mobile game developers
Some people need continuous background noise in their life. If you are a thinker and a problem solver, you know what kind of brain activity level that results in.
Good post Tim. I can relate to Lesson#1 on your list above.
I just spent time recently with a close friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. We hung out for only about an hour but literally for half that time he was sitting there texting on his phone, only half-way paying attention to the conversation I’m trying to have with him. Experiences like that made me realize just how addicted people have become to their cell phones, especially my generation.
Tim…great post… I went on a cruise with fiancé and dissconnected for 5 days and thought I was going to go out of my mind.
I really dig ur show… Drumming and stock car were the only 2 I saw so far– really cool to see u on TV!
Also
Been diving back into all ur books especially 4hr work week
It may be the New Years motivational thing but really looking to build my blog up — would u say this is the best route to getting a platform for future business?
Happy new year
Jeff
I was prepared to hate this post. 31 days without a phone but still having an iPad mini. Sounded like a first world problem on the highest order. However, the discussion on smart phones taking our minds hits right at home. I have recently been considering axing my smart phone for a simple flip phone on a discount plan and an iPad mini with a data plan. I thought I was the only one, but that idea has new luster after reading this… If anything I’m more committed to not let my phone run my life.
I went phone-less for 4 months while I finished studies in Montreal.
I didn’t feel like paying the cell bill, so I cancelled my service and experimented. I wasn’t worried about emergencies since I was in a major city (where many people have cell phones).
I only made phone calls 1x/week via Google chat and I stayed in touch with friends via e-mail and Facebook.
If I were to go 2-4 weeks without technology, I would remove 1 piece of equipment, remind myself that time alone with thought shouldn’t be a fear, and find a new activity (reading, yoga, swimming, hiking, skiing…) to fill the time if there is that much time opened up. Hope this helps!
The phone-less experience was great because it’s nice to know that I don’t need a phone.
To go along with posts on Seneca and stoicism…it’s nice to remind ourselves of how little we need and how great simplicity can be. Thanks for the post!
Different but similar: I went 2 years without a computer for internet. During that time, I would check email through my phone, but it cut out the unnecessaries. It had its pros and cons: Big Pro: I re-evaluated how I use the internet. It became more of a tool than a TV. Big Con: Facebook just didn’t work as a tool for connection anymore.
Too dang funny. I happen to have been at Shasta one year and the houseboat was in fact “on ecstasy” and we were jumping around all over but no phones were in site, it was 105 degrees that weekend and my phone would have died anyway.
While I’m in the tech industry I’m in fact trying my best to only use it in the most productive and human way, and that is by using skype more often, and other apps that actually let me be human with a broader reach, don’t know if that makes sense. I have turned off most notifications, it’s too interrupting.
Good story and great takeaway!
I went 2 months in Europe with only an iTouch. They run the same OS as iPhone (same apps, etc) ….but are wifi-only. So, when walking around and traveling, you can’t get online. You have to go to a wifi hotspot, which forces productivity. While offline, I used the basic ‘notes’ app and filled it with my best ideas to date.
The iTouch has a short battery life, which reduces ‘lazy usage’ and makes you prioritize.
Overall, the whole experience revealed the true level of importance regarding tech. It now takes a back seat, although it is very frustrating to see friends tethered to these things (asking you a question, then ignoring your answer as they gaze into the screen)
Wow, keeping up with clients with no phone at all sounds frustrating. Weren’t you worried that you were missing new clients by having no contact? Good on you anyway.
haha on the phantom vibrations. Definitely something I experience but have never thought about until reading this.
Awesome post. Been phone free for a year and a half and it gets better by the day. Been Wifi free for a year. Im forced to use the former while at work, albeit provided by my employer. A technical error also forced me to cave after a year and use the latter last month.
Ditching the cell phone started as an experiment after reading The 4 Hour Work Week. The wifi came shortly thereafter due to this documentary (http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/resonance-beings-frequency/).
For phone calls I use Skypes online number. For all textual communications, such as email and text messages, I use my email address. Both are acessed on my laptop that I never take out of the house, and checked twice a day. Life is so much more simpler, productive, and worry free these days.
I had to laugh at finding this post on my first day being reconnected. Just before a family trip to Puerto Galera, Philippines, I sat on my phone and broke it. So I decided not to be connected. No cords, adapters, sim cards, dongles, wireless connections to worry about. When the plane taxied down the runway I read a real paper book, no Kindle. For two weeks I rode in enjoyed an analog life, and watched the others in the group stress about slow connections, uncharged devices and how to make a GoPro work. I’m sure my mother isn’t so happy about my decision, but it made for one of the best vacations ever.
If you go out to dinner with friends, have everyone put their phone in the middle of the table. If anyone touches their phone, then they must pay the bill
I love this idea! I’m using it…;)
I haven’t checked Facebook in a month and I feel much better. I’m much more productive and I have been working on reducing my MDU. Also, for over a year, I routinely have left my iPhone on silent with no vibrate. I answer calls and texts when I notice them. If I happen to be staring at the screen I answer the call. Otherwise I return it when I have time. This helps me maintain concentration in what I am working. Also, try a VoIP phone on your ipad mini–I love it (Acrobats had a great app and I use VoIP.ms for my service. $1 per month, a penny a minute). Sure, I use my iphone when I’m in solid work mode. But when I’m taking a break I can just use the mini and call whomever I want to call from the iPad.
So my tip is to: (obviously) drop the phone altogether and get a Kindle (not Kindle Fire) with WiFi. It wil automatically limit your usage with their experimental browser 🙂 And you will probably read more stuff! Also; teach your friends to interpret smoke signals you make (nobody else uses it anyways)
I could definitely do it, I’ve gone a week without internet. The separation from your device really makes you realize that the majority of the emails or messages we get aren’t as pressing as we make them seem.
I proudly still own a flip phone! I think it stems from an experience early in my career where my job provided me with a Blackberry, and I felt obligated to check and respond to emails 24 hours a day. Since then, I’ve kept my flip phone as my personal phone. My current job gave me an iPhone, but at night and on weekends, it stays at home, tucked away. I may receive funny looks when I pull out my flip phone, but I think it keeps me more engaged with the people I’m with, and the experiences I’m enjoying.
When I was away for a year I traveled without a laptop, GPS and a basic phone. For a 6 month trip I traveled with no technology. An unfair comparison I know as I’m not dealing in business. The main trick with these things is the people you surround yourself with and how tolerant or understanding they are.
Comedians have some great material on the phenomenon of phone reliance as Lane listed in her 5 points. Comedians Pete Holmes and Eddie Pepitone riffed on phones as a “Life Companion” on Pete’s YMIW podcast. Louis CK has expounded on what smartphones are taking away from us “the ability to just sit there. That’s being a person”
Nice post, another additional benefit of no phone would be: not having a radiation device in your pocket, it can’t be healthy having such a device so close to your reproductive organs. The main thing I would miss is not being able to check my shopify app 24/7..
Hi Tim,
I’m surprised but not surprised by what I just read. I travel a lot for work, and spend a considerable amount of time abroad and at sea, delivering sailboats for a living. I’m forced to be without technology out there, and in many of the foreign countries I visit.
Back ashore, when I first got an iPhone (only last January), I decided I’d be in control from Day 1. I put off getting a smartphone for so long because I can’t stand the ‘MPU’ that Lane talks about among my friends. I ended up the odd man out because I didn’t have anything to check! Anyway, when I got the phone, I turned off all notifications for everything except calls and texts. I check email and FB when I want, not when the phone tells me too.
Phones are not cameras – cameras are cameras, and it looks way cooler to take photos with one and not your silly phone (and the photos turn out better to boot). I leave the phone at home during all of my recreational pursuits and when going out with friends, taking the attitude that anyone who I want to talk with will be with me on that occasion anyway. This works.
I love my iPhone. But I don’t ‘need’ it.
+Andy
My dad coined the term “trude” as in tech rude for phone usage at innapropriate times… it hasnt caught on yet, but that doesnt stop him. maybe you all could pick it up. If he heard trude in a sitcom he or something he would die a happy man.
I got a friend that lives on Lana’i in Hawaii and has been phone less for 3 years now. He skypes his parents and just doesn’t get bothered by anyone. He said everyones always checking their phone at work while he never thinks about that problem, he also get the most recommendations from guests at the hotel.
I have been traveling in South America for 7 months. I happily chose to take out my SIM card and take my SIM-less iPhone which effectively turns it into a wifi-only iPod touch. There are so many apps and websites that make communicating easy.
I challenge anyone reading this to go “SIM-less” for at least one month. If you succeed, reward yourself. If you don’t, at least you learned something about yourself and our culture.
Here’s a hack, don’t own a smartphone. Most of the stuff you do on a smartphone is inconsequential to living a meaningful life. It can all wait until you’re at a computer. I got rid of my iPhone a few years ago and now only have my poor little dumb phone–he means well. I notice I spent so much time looking at Facebook posts, which were usually silly and worthless musings of friends and relatives. The impetus to get a dumb phone was when I saw one of my friend’s post that read, “It’s Saturday!” under a photo of chips and salsa. Since then, I got used to never having the internet in my pocket, it was so satisfying to pay attention to whatever I was doing in that moment. You know, living. My dumb phone, Fred, and I have grown apart in recent months; I frequently leave him at home and I feel even more liberated. I come home from work, see who called or texted and reply. Done. No pictures, no internet, no problem.
Currently enduring an 8 hour layover in an Asian airport–bumming their WiFi at the moment. Have been living smartphoneless in Shanghai for the past year. It was life changing in a very ‘present’ way. Plan to continue the trend stateside in about 20 hours from now, making it on a ‘dumb phone’ and a small tablet to use when WiFi is available. Cheers and thanks for the post!
My wife and haven’t had a phone for over a year now (13 months to be exact). In that time we’ve been to 2 continents, 7 countries, and 23 cities. We also simultaneously started our own online business. Still, we just used a combination of Google Voice (both on our laptops and on our iPad/iPods via Talkatone), email, and Skype to stay in touch with friends, family, and our clients. And so far it’s worked out very well. In fact, there’s been times when people around us can’t get reception, but we get good to excellent call quality on an iPod Touch. The other benefit is that since we both spend so much time working on our laptops, when we go out we’re disconnected, unless of course we choose not to be and connect to some free WiFi somewhere.
I use google voice and talkatone on my old smartphone within wireless reception and an tablet. No more data plan or monthly bills for smartphone. I did downgrade though to a flip phone, (yes tracfone) as I rarely talk on phone anyway. With a coupon code, my effective monthly bill is $4.00 a month. The phone is for one reason only, if I break down on the highway and I broke down twice last year so, the $4.00 is insurance. For the most part, that smart phone that has google voice and talkatone on it, I pretty much use as a remote control that allows me to access my computer so I can pull up a movie on Amazon. The laptop is connected to back of TV. LOL
I have gone without a phone for many weeks ( I live in SF bay area) mostly because I left it at a friend’s place and didn’t get a chance to pick it up back. I didn’t miss it at all.
I have a desk phone on my office desk, A landline at home, when I’m out and about its usually with my husband who carries his cellphone. The only time I REALLY need a phone is when I’m driving alone and get in an accident or something. Fortunately that didn’t happen during those days.
Despite a lot of peer pressure and coaxing from friends and family, I have avoided buying a smartphone. With 24 hrs internet on my office computer and home devices, I feel that we are too connected already.
When I get home in the evening, I want to spend that time with my daughter, not my phone. I could never wrap my head around the idea of a phone which is omnipresent and always interfering. Maybe I’m too old fashioned.
I personally didn’t think the post was that groundbreaking but the fact a lot of people have felt the need to share their personal experience dabbling sans phone just shows how big of a deal even the slightest disconnection is.
Hey Tim & team! Awesome post! And great to see posts about 4HWW / productivity – LOVE THESE POSTS, and have personally taken multiple measures to follow tips in the book last few years, incl shutting off auto-update on email & checking only a few times/day, blocking access to online news with browser plugins, setting goals night before.
Still find it hard to avoid pressing the “load email button” in email client though…
Here in Europe we had something called “The Internet Week” a few weeks ago, and some guys decided to set up a parallel “No Internet Week”.
After the initial panic of not being able to use basic smartphone feature such as maps, texting, google etc, something changes in the text subjects.
Without internet and constant disturbances, people all of a sudden had these huge chunks of time at their hands. Test subjects living only 1 week without internet, felt they could get as much done in one hour as in one or 2 days….!
Internet & smartphones are practically killing productivity of a whole generation.
Can giving up or heavy limiting personal/corporate use of smartphone / email / computer be a competitive advantage in coming years?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10553634/Could-you-survive-a-week-with-no-internet.html
Turn off ph start of each business day. I choose to turn it off from 8-11, that’s when i can get good work done and set up the day. Bit of ‘7 habits’ meets ‘4HWW’.
I take a different approach. The excitement of a smartphone wore off pretty quick since, I work on a computer at work and then work on a computer in the evening creating my muses. I don’t like to talk on phone, takes up too much of my time. I rarely text! So why pay the monthly bill for this anyway. So I downgraded, (go ahead an laugh) to a flip phone, prepaid tracfone. Yes tracfone, I get good reception. With a payment of $19.99 and a promo code my minutes last for 5 months. Once again I rarely talk on phone, as for business I communicate via email or IM. With the savings, I just went ahead and joined amazon prime, converted an old laptop to a media center and connected to my TV. (However I do not watch much Tv but if i have a hankering for a movie i just pull it up from my prime account. OH YEAH THAT SMARTPHONE I HAD, It still works when I am wireless, so I downloaded an app to allow me to turn it into a remote control for the laptop and tv to dial up my movies for lack of a better term. Recently, we had the coldest day of the year at my house -10 degrees. The furnace chose to conk out that day. So we made it fun an camped out in the family room with sleeping bags and the next day, instead of calling an HVAC specialist, I decided to tackle myself, I am an accountant and IT person not an HVAC person. But guess what, it was a challenge and hard to do but I got it fixed with $120 parts and relying on my wits instead of tethered to a phone. I am proud of this. The furnace runs like brand new.
In the past, traveling to Thailand helped. Going places that had no internet or very expensive use of my mobile device. Lately, connectivity has increased and aps like the ones you mentioned can keep you connected.
Open water; If you can’t get away for a open water cruise that takes you to places only covered my a Sat phone. Just a coastal cruise will make you put the phone away instead of loosing it in the drink.
After the high anxiety withdrawals wear off, you notice how time starts ease by. You start to enjoy things like sweat tea in the afternoon. Sitting on an outdoor swing in the afternoon. How about that strange concept of conversation with people.
Please don’t get me wrong, Love Technology!! The Japanese have a saying;
One eye on the future but one eye on the past. Or was that Wolverine?
I’ve thought about dumping my phone and computer over and over again. For a while I had cut my data plan and used just a phone with a keyboard, but hated texting on it. I realized though that I texted less with a non-smartphone, and no one ever calls me so the phone worked fine. I use my smartphone for reading(Kindle), Bible app, audiobooks on my drive to and from work or with headphones on while working at home. I have a little netbook that I journal on, watch movies on, whatever else I need to do with a keyboard, and it goes with me everywhere. I may have to decide one of these days to just stop using tech for a month, or only use my netbook at home in the evenings after the kids are in bed. I am on a computer all day at work and journal from there once in a while, so dumping tech in my off times doesn’t seem like it will hurt much. The thought is very intriguing.
Great idea but perhaps quite a challenge when working in a situation that requires you have regular calls? A year ago I used a very basic 90’s ‘brick’ for a phone, but was called out by someone who (assuming i’d have a smart phone) sent an email an hour before a meeting to rearrange, assuming I’d have received it. It’s very tricky when having a phone is a norm…
Thank you for sharing this! Most of us still think that without phone there is no life
My husband and i went one better and went three weeks in a foreign country (New Zealand) on our honeymoon without a phone or internet on each of us. It was great. No calls, no texts, no siri, no emails. what was even better was that it forced us to communicate with strangers in a way that hasn’t been seen since before smartphones. I am a chronic ‘googler’; wanna know the exchange rate? google it. Wanna know how to get from A to B? google it. wanna know what time this restaurant closes? google it.
So this is a foreign country was great. We ended up making amazing friends, getting wonderfully lost, and communicated better than ever.
Recently I moved and had no internet service at my new place. I’ve always been sort of a luddite but have recently found myself more and more attached to my tech. I welcomed not having the internet as an opportunity to prioritize my internet specific tasks to only that which was absolutely necessary. Of course I have a smart phone which I could check email/fb/etc on if I wanted but it was a worthwhile exercise prioritizing with my task list and using the internet at coffee shops a couple of times a week. I’ve moved my fb and gmail apps off of the main screen on my phone so that I’m not as tempted to check them. Borrowing from Tim Ferriss 4HWW I’ve realized for the amount of email I generally receive I can get away with checking it once or twice a week. Batching all internet specific tasks because I’m forced to has shown me how much more efficient and effective I can be. I’ve missed absolutely nothing critical doing this and saved countless minutes each week. I’ve realized how much I’m led around by the nose by my tech.
Bittersweet. I love this concept, but it’s such a huge bummer that it’s such a lofty concept, and so far outside of this generation’s paradigm (since I’m recently 30 (over the hill) I can make fun of “kids these days”) that few will even consider this a viable option for their particular situations (much like the 4HWW).
This married couple I’m friends with – my age – have NEVER had cell phones. I mean, IT’S 2014 AND THE TWO OF THEM SHARE ONE FREAKING LANDLINE HOMEPHONE!! Assholes. How can I find them when they’re downtown? How inconsiderate of them.
The big kick in the nuts? He works with/for her supporting her online jewelry business. Yep. They BOTH quit their full-time jobs, during which they shared ONE vehicle. (She’s now graduated up into a freaking Vespa as their 2nd vehicle). Wait. a freaking. minute. They both got and maintained actual well-paying jobs without phones? WTF.
They also happen to be two of the most free-spirited, adventurous people I know. In some regards, I envy them.
I was late to the game. I didn’t get my own phone until someone pointed out how weird it was that I kept giving out my mom’s home phone number to chicks at bars. Their calls were answered by her very Catholic recording…
(I have no shame).
Maybe that’s why I still don’t really care about phones. I’ve never really understood the compulsion to need to fill every vacant moment. I guess I just appreciate the reprieve amidst an otherwise very full(filling) life.
But as a self-employed builder, it’s industry standard to act like it’s one’s only source of oxygen. But I still have some weird feeling I can’t shake that people must have built houses before cell phones.
Whatever.
My wife is pretty patient & gracious. She allows me a 20 min. window in which to transition from work mode to home mode. As the last few errant calls, texts, emails are addressed, it’s easy for me to treat my iPhone as a home phone. I just leave it in the kitchen on the charger. I seldom take it with me outside of business hours. And I absolutely LOVE asking someone calling about business what was SO urgent they had to call at 8pm on a Sunday. If i cared, I’d feel bad. No one has ever made that mistake twice.
But to address any hacks I have to offer:
Try leaving your phone on a ‘base’ of sorts. Like cordless home phones used to be.
No phones during meals, no exceptions. It’s amazing what you can learn about your family when you talk to them. Also realized my wife is a pretty good cook.
Up until a few month ago, I didn’t have a cell phone. My wife strongly suggested that I get one because I go on long walks sometimes and she worries about me. Otherwise, I don’t really need it. I don’t get many calls or texts at all. Basically, I’m paying $35 a month for her peach of mind. Sure, it comes in handy occasionally but I could easily do without it.
Travelled for 5 months around Asia without a phone or a computer! I have never had a phone that cost more than €20 and so I have never had a smart phone. Therefore I really didn’t miss it, everywhere I went (excluding PNG) had inter cafes in most hostels if I felt the need to check it. It did however frustrate friends and family as I was only contactable on my terms.
I didn’t realize my hook on technology until I was… without it in the middle of New Mexico at a spa retreat. No signal, and having withdrawals is a real thing. However, I found that after I got through the first day (of feeling out of sync, desperate for online connectivity, and constant media bombardment), it was actually pleasant. No buzzing, ringing, dinging, or other noises to disrupt my concentration or sleep.
In the end, unplugging was a beautiful thing, even though the first 24 hours were pretty painful.
A cell phone is a big waste of time. It would distract me from my definite purpose. I want one, but I don’t need one.
You can get by with Wifi – just hop into an area that has network connectivity. Google helps a lot as well – take voicemail etc and forward etc.
So far I have managed to get by without carrying one for 5 years now.
Moved from city to country. No TV. No cable internet. Before I got a smart phone, I read books instead of surfing. My ringer is almost always OFF! I refuse to be a slave to the bell.
It is difficult to be social when you, the other person or both are “plugged in”.
The phone is what you make it – a tool or a toy. Remember, it is always your choice to answer.
“The phone is what you make it – a tool or a toy. Remember, it is always your choice to answer.”
Good point Avery!
I’m and exploration geologist. That means I can spend five or six weeks at a time in the bush with no electronics of any kind, just a brief battery saving Sched call once a day on a sat phone or mountain radio. Everyone from bosses to relatives cope. My life doesn’t end (is quite weird to most people admittedly). Cell phones are maddening devices, as this blog highlights, you need those breaks away from them to realize it. I never answer my phone or check voicemail and it’s permanently on silent. I look at the recent calls and call people back (if I want to). Over time people message or email you exactly as described in 4HWW.
I am a stay-at-home mom and run a business. My children are under five, so I have to plan out my computer usage very carefully. Before I get in bed, I plan what tasks must get done and how long it will take me. Then I schedule those into the plan for the next day. (I have a pretty strict schedule daily as my husband is out of the house for about 12 hours).
Mostly, I schedule emailing my cilents in the morning and have to uber-focus to write enough to be comprehensive and not so much as to go over my computer time.
I know it’s not a no-computer situation but it’s a middle ground for someone who might be searching for a solution. Hope it helps!
Really interesting experiment and thanks for “MPU”, I never came across the term before. I think “mindless phone usage” hits the nail on the head. Most people use their (smart)phones seemingly as a small therapy device they can carry everywhere. It became a habit to “quickly check things” and there are so many people who are everywhere but not part the place they are surrounded by. I think with internet and its “matter of course” everything seems “too fast” and “too much”. I think that’s why more an more people withdraw, long for slow moments, meditate, do yoga, seek the outdoors and silence and so on.
Disconnecting from a device is reconnecting to your mind, more people should try it…
In November 2013, I made a decision to turn off my 3G data. I self-imposed ‘lifehacker’ experiment inspired by works (Tim Ferriss) (4HWW) and Leo Babauta (Zen Habits).
The world didn’t blow up for me.
I’ve found that the more ways people have of getting instantly in touch, the more likely they are to send you their latest distracting brain farts. Less options sends the message that you value your time and attention-energy, and calls on them to do the same.
Contacts have had to adjust their expectations, initially; but have had no trouble reaching me via voice and sms-text for true urgencies. During the day, while mobile, essentially, my phone is a phone. End of story.
At home/office, WiFi kicks in, and my device comes to life; but on my terms — I’ve ruthlessly disabled noise-making, brain-fart inducing notifications that aren’t ‘urgency’-level or higher (eg. phone, txt, and critical meeting/task reminders).
Email or other messaging platforms are used to collaborate and plan meetups; but only once/twice a day, while on WiFi, sitting down, and focused, using a larger device. Contacts are encouraged to call if something requires my immediate attention.
I use TomTom to navigate without mobile data.
Do Not Disturb mode kicks on at bedtime and kicks off an hour after I wake up.
The results…
Pros: less distraction, more focus, greater *actual* productivity, quality time with family, friends, and distraction-less dates. Focused driving. Near elimination of MPU.
Cons: iOS prompting me to turn my cellular data back on. Missing out on the latest social gossip (actually a good thing). Random event invites, and last minute schedule changes sent via Email or Facebook Messenger.
Hardly scientific data, I admit; but for me, at least, the subjective trade-off and peace of mind have been more than worth it.
“sorry for start bad english.” :/
I must speak to my editors… oh wait… that’s me.
Been without a phone for about two years.
Oh, and I had no wifi at home for the last 5 months.
What happened?
A few curious things:
1. You become painfully aware when you need to use the net. Yet once you finish those necessary things, you become painfully unaware that you’ve since been wasting time on random websites, instead of, say, working to afford wifi.
2. you become adept at finding wifi around the block, and a master of losing shame by posting up on the neighbour’s lawn a few times per day.
3. you become a regular at the nearest dunking doughnuts. Employees start to think you might belong with the usual reject hangouts. You start thinking they might be right after realizing you’re there at 3am.
4. You get anxious looking at your computer. Looking at the gvoice is different than a phone, you see a lot of messages at once. It gets overwheling.
5. Because you are typing messages via a laptop, your messages get long. Too long. Conversations aren’t supposed to be a couple of long, packed with info, sentences.
6. If you go out, and there is no wifi, you better know how to be nice to people, so you can use their phone.
7. Picking up people from the airport is a deathsentence. Leaving your car unattended in the lane so you can use someone’s phone is a great way to get the attention of the police squad.
8. You will lose contact with the world. If you are working from home most of the time, say, if you’re a writer, then you’re fucked. Talking to people will be like learning to speak Chinese.
Overall, I think it’s not worth it. Funny reading this today, the day I decided to go to T-mobile and get plugged in.
This doesn’t quite fit the “no phone/ no computer” question but it’s almost there:
In the summer of 2013, I was underemployed. My 20 year old car broke down and I had no way of fixing it. Even worse, I was stuck in a rural town 20 miles away from any viable jobs. After begging Sprint for 4 months not to cut off my phone, they got fed up and gave me two days to come up with 4 months payment.
That day, I bought a Pa-Lo Virgin Mobile phone and put 20 dollars worth of minutes on it. When you move from an iPhone to a flip phone manufactored in 2007 for 6 months, your perspective on what’s essential and what’s not changes.
Some of my more superficial connections suffered because I hated texting the old fashioned way ( I forgot how horrible t-9 was) and I almost never made phone calls. But the really important connections remained. It was brilliant to hear from people who were ACTUALLY interested in what was going on instead of random people I met at a party once or twice on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr.
I ended up actually leaving most social networking behind after I reclaimed my iPhone (and normal life) back in November. I still use Instagram and Tumblr but far more judiciously. And I leave my phone where it belongs when I’m driving or when I’m actually with other people– in my pocket.
So my advice is:
Go to a store and buy the cheapest, prepaid DUMB phone and port your old number if possible. See how little you actually need to stay connected on “social” wastes-of-time or to Wikipedia to win arguments during dinner. Enjoy hearing from your near and dear on occasion and make your lack of a “modern” phone the reason you go and see them IN PERSON more often. Go to a rural area where the Internet and phone just isn’t as strong and enjoy communing with nature. Come back to the people in your life all the better for it.
Nowadays we used handy phones for our means of communications to connect with our loveones and be able to keep in touch with them. In many ways it is helpful but their are also disadvantages of using it all the time. First it is not healthy for us, we tend to put it everywhere we are,and can easily get microorganism, that can irritate our skin and the radiation ofcourse. Second it hinder the natural way of communication. Ex for a personal conversation with a friend it blocks the channel from the sender to reciever because it distracts onne another, one cannot absorb the real message and the other person cannot deliver the message properly. So, there is no reason for us people that cant live without a mobile phone, as long as we know how to communicate with other person properly, when we dont use mobile phone for some reasons we can use our natural skills to come up with a solution to a certain issue or problem even if we are in the busy life in the city.
I use airplane mode frequently. Especially when going out (dinner/movies), going to bed, or simply if I want to spend a few hours to myself.
I have gone phone less when traveling to another province, on a sun vacation or just didn’t have a phone. Quite frankly it is now very easy to get away without a phone, especially a smartphone.
After tracking my phone usage the past couple of months ( less than 600 minutes total), I’m actually debating when my current contract is up, that I will find myself a used high end Nokia phone (with poor texting and smartphone features a la Symbian) and using my ipad mini for the rest of the functions
How I did it:
Phone:
-Skype for North America wide calling
-Fongo with free canada wide calling and free local phone number
-ringcentral for business calls
Texting
-iMessage (works great if all your friends & family are on iPhone) and TextMe
Having your own phone is truly a necessity nowadays given that everything is connected by technology. It is sad to think that even people are connected through this “technological wires”. Its like without a phone most people would feel that it is almost impossible to build a relationship thats why having a good relationship and a phone is almost intertwine.
Great article. I think its sad so many people are slaves to their phones. I have a cell phone but it does not control my life. I used to work in a building of a major retailer and so many people walked around looking at their phones. I sometimes want to tell them that life is out there (in front of them) and not down there (staring at a phone).
Thank you for that article. Honestly, I do not understand why people are so obsessed on their phone. I don’t really use mine. When I bought a smart phone, I learned that the possibility of being online 24/7 really changed my whole day in a negative way. Being addicted to Facebook and Co. is so much harder for me than just having a phone (well, to be honest, I get very little calls – people just send me facebook messages). Therefore, I decided to turn my back on Facebook for four weeks (May 11 to June 11) – and it’s really hard for me. But I experience that I have so much more time each day and I am really productive instead, so, folks, switch off your phones, leave Facebook for just one or two days and get your butt off the chair 🙂
(sorry if my English is not the best, it’s not my mother tongue)
Three years ago my husband and I read the 4 Hour Work Week, and followed all the instructions. At the time he was working none stop at a computer business that we owned, though it was very successful we didn’t have the two things that we most wanted… time and freedom. We now live in a quiet fishing village on an island in the Adriatic, with our family of eleven.
We are now renovating an ancient villa, and have lived with out a phone for about nine months. We have no internet at our house right now. I go the the cafe twice a day to send orders and spend about 30 minutes promoting the business, blogging or trying new advertising. The 4 Hour Work Week concept works wonderfully, and we actually do all the work in about 4 hours. On most days we bring in about four times as much money as we actually need to live on.
We are enjoying a life that is not demanding… except for the needs of our nine children who are homeschooling. Right now they are reading books about the history of Europe and Asia while studying island-life, and we are able to have time and freedom for mission work.
We started an online business selling digital downloads of a reading program for Dyslexic Children that I first created to help my own daughter, 4HWW gave us the idea to turn the learning concept into a series of books that can be printed at home or printed on demand from the fulfillment company. My husband sold his computer business, and we had enough money to live on while starting the Dyslexia Games Business. We now have about 4000 students, and even with the 110% refund offer, we have only issued 2 refunds in 3 years, because the program works so well.
Thank you Tim for showing us a great way to live the life we love, and support 9 kids while doing it. We left the USA in 2012 to spend a year in Italy, then went to Ukraine to work with Orphans, after evacuating Ukraine, we settled on Kapije in Croatia. While in Italy House Hunters International caught up with us to cover our story.
Here is the link to the Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kScau4wlVeQ&feature=youtu.be
[Moderator: Other links removed]
Blessings,
Sarah Brown
I ditch the phone as soon as I get home, it became a source of constant stress for me, checking works emails, answering works emails, sometimes at 3am! I got so stressed with work and my workload that my doctor recommended I go on tablets. Instead I quit my phone. Work pay for it, so when I am at work it is a tool. As soon as I got home its on silent and it doesn’t automatically sync my emails any longer. At weekends I only use it to text my friends and make arrangements to go out cycling or horse riding. It is the best decision I ever made.
Once you’re weaned off, it gets easier. I now leave my laptop at work all weekend. I quit Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Now my life it much simpler, my real friends have a real place in my real life, those virtual friends, hell they know how to contact me if they really wanted to, but they don’t and you know what? my life is just as rich without, go figure!
I personally didn’t think the post was that groundbreaking but the fact a lot of people have felt the need to share their personal experience dabbling sans phone just shows how big of a deal even the slightest disconnection is.
My co-workers are rather suspicious, and it has caused some heart palpitations when I admit that 1. I’ve worked in IT for years, and 2. I do not (and have never) own a smartphone or pager. I do own a tracphone on a pay as you use it plan, and over a year I’ve managed to amass a whopping 53 minutes of airtime. It’s for emergencies, otherwise when I’m away from work – I’m away from work. (and yes, I’m under the age of 45)
My HTC was stolen 4 months ago and I haven’t replaced it since- I was ‘that’ friend that was always hooked on their phone, stuck to it 24/7 doing I don’t even remember what.
I *love* life without it, i have no ipods/ipads just a laptop and I’m a teen too so it IS possible, I totally agree with what you said I feel so mentally free and give so much more time to my family. I don’t even want a phone anymore.
Because I work for ridesharing companies, I must use my phone for work. however, when I’m not at work, I have it silent and face down. I don’t let it be an electronic leash. I have upset a few people because I’m not at their every whim, but so be it. People in my life have learned that I’m not interested in every thought they spew and that I’m probably not going to reply to texts right away. This means that they now only contact me when it’s important. Some have chosen to fade out of my life because I don’t share their addiction to having my face in a little screen all the time, but such people were not very invested in the first place. If they need constant validity and attention, so be it.
Sometimes, I’ve let myself get caught up with a device and I find that it tends to breed a bunch of drama, debates and useless communication. So, it doesn’t take too long before I’m back to turning my phone off when not at work. It’s nice to actually pay attention to my surroundings and live life through the lenses of my own eyes and direct experience.
I’ve been phone-free for 4 years. First, I used an iPod Touch with Talkatone, now it’s just google hangouts+voice, primarily on my laptop. Sometimes, I use a tablet, but rarely. Family, including grandmother is always after me to get a phone, but with Wi-Fi everywhere, so there is no point. (Ok, there isn’t wi-fi when you’re riding your bike around or driving, but thats time YOU SHOULDNT BE TALKING ANYWAY). It seems like everyone forgets that just 15 years ago, cell phones weren’t ubiquitous, and we all would plan to meet places or call each other at certain times. It’s no big deal.
This a good post that addresses self imposed servitude to a phone(a tool). Unfortunately I do not foresee the Great Slave Uprising against the tool.
At the end of the day and on weekends I use airplane mode and leave the cellphone in the car and do not have any inclination to answer it during the family’s time, nor will it ring if i am using the car.
It was not always like this, but it is now.
Best of luck in getting your life back
Easiest change that you can make is to apologise or ask for permission when using your phone in public: “Hey, my phone just vibrated, do you mind if I check it?”. It makes you stop and think before checking your phone and sets phone checking as a social faux pas, two powerful forces against MPU. Most importantly, it is polite. I feel that it should have been the etiquette from the moment mobile phones became popular.
The best time of my life was when I was in a harbor in Newfoundland that didn’t get any reception. No phone. No TV. No computer. Just me, the ocean, my friends, some good books, my journal, and real living for almost 3 weeks. I actually crave that place like I crave my favorite food. It was the best thing I’ve ever done for my soul. But, as far as work goes, I need to be plugged in.
Hey @tim, I went 5 years without a phone. Here’s how I did it:
– All meetups were pre-organised. I would always keep coins on me to use the pay phone.
– Travel: Print out the Google map instructions and read on as I drove. Always read before you leave to prevent any hiccups. On the bus you would actually talk to people or catch the view without being stuck with your eyes in your lap.
– Communication: Facebook & Email
– Relationships: Pruned relationships severely. Cherished the people who would consciously stay in touch over home phone vs mobile.
– Business: For any job interviews or networking, I would give them my mum’s number and get her to reply: “Luca’s office” to any unknown numbers. Worked like a charm. Gotta love mum.
When my phone broke and i decided to not use the spare phones that were offered to me, i was amazed at how my communication to others was automated and the feeling of liberation was fantastic. I knew that everyone could get hold of me, whenever they needed.
After the initial “how can you have no phone???”, people knew my frequented places (work, home, girlfriend, gym and some friends) and if anything did come up, they never had any problems getting hold of me.
Absolutely liberating
When I have no credit, I can’t use the phone. I have to use a public phone. Public phones ( in Australia anyway, are becoming few and far between, too, I’m noticing. One more thing; I am in my 60’s and have not had a smart phone until last Christmas. I think the constant sense of urgency intrinsic to the smart phone is a very unhealthy side effect of owning one.
Lovely article! I am struck with this MPU lately :/ Will try and put your tips to use.
No discipline. I went without a computer for 3 months not because I wanted to and a phone for a couple weeks at a time here an there, that’s my usual for my phone— actually I dont have my phone right now.
This Sunday nite I left my phone in my daughters’ boyfriends’ car to charge— I have a box of old cell phones which I thought about setting up for service as a backup. But didn’t.. I went thru phone withdrawals the next day using my boyfriends phone as much as I could he was going to visit his family for a week—I must of looked ridiculous. That evening he left and took his phone but I had told all my doctors and my rides that I didn’t have a phone.
I had the TV on low for a bit then the next day decided to not watch any TV and I noticed a loud buzzing/ringing in my ears. So I quit using the earphones, but midweek it seemed to soften everyday. I really enjoy the silence, low sound country music, and now I know my options, the doctor has a online health PORTAL.to send/recieve messages, when I get ready to start my own business, I know there are options on the internet that I will adventure into. I did freak-out at times but some of it came from external sources, my driver not being able to notify me that she was here to pick me up for my appointment even tho I told them my phone was out. The receptionist and the dispatcher all seemed to be oblivious on how to deal with me without a phone but with a little faith and adjusting we all made it thru the week…and I know that teenagers can’t live without their phones, but not so they can call you “the parent”, so why stress?, I’ll live longer, maybe I won’t give them my new number…lol.
The only thing that has worked for me so far was turning the phone off and leaving it in the car or giving it to a friend/family member to hide. It’s ridiculous how often I would reach out for it when it’s not there, or wonder, “What if someone texted me?” Only problem is you may miss your calendar reminders, so make sure this is doubling on your workstation in Outlook/GCalendar opened.
Then, on your workstation it’s simple to use SelfControl (https://selfcontrolapp.com/) or its alternatives for Windows PC (SelfRestraint) – both FREE and work, which is the most important thing. I found that Freedom which had been mentioned on the show a few times, is like “Sex Panther” cologne from The Anchorman movie: “60% of the time, works every time.”
I like your site and your posts.