I lost my phone yesterday, and given that i'm temporaily homeless, I also lost my main (mobile) internet connection. I was quite shocked at my emotional reaction -- somewhere around mild panic, mixed in with an intense annoyance at myself.
It could have been a lot worse: The phone's password protected, I froze it immediately after noticing I'd lost it using a handy little Google programme, and (most fortuitously) I'd also just recently bought a new phone last week, and i'm currently writing this on that (via a funky little blue tooth keyboard), en route to a phone shop where i can apparently pick up a new sim card for free if i show some I.D.
I don't think there's anything of huge value on the memory chip, or in the phone's memory: no media files of any significance and I've got the back up codes for the crypto wallet on the phone, so no loss there, other than time to download all the various apps I need.
So my feeling is that what i'm probably so upset about is the loss of my mobile data connection rather than the loss of the phone itself. TBH this shoud come as no real surprise given that phones are all about connecting people. Anyway...
Six lessons from losing my phone:
Most immediately I realised that I haven't actually stopped for several months.... I've gone through a usual college year, including all of the extra stress involved with exam season, maintained and expanded two blogs, moved house and ended up between houses, living out of bags, without really ever 'stopping' for a break. I didn't even really stop last week when I was ill. It must be a combination of dislocation and stress that led to my losing the phone (i have been a bit all over the place recently) and what I've learned is that I need a break sometime soon, so I'm taking one today and tomorrow, sort of.
Secondly, I've realised I've got into this habit of being constantly online. Somehow I've come to define 'a long time offline' as being about 2-3 hours. Being reliant on a 4G mobile connection certainly hasn't helped this. I've just had coming up for 18 hours offline... broken by sleep - basically an evening and a morning. I need longer periods offline - I'm going to aim for 3 hours in the morning and then the same in the evening, and an hour for lunch. I might also go for one whole offline day a week.
Thirdly, I've realised I'm a little bit obsessed with self-tracking. I had a pedometer on my lost phone, and my goal for July is to reach an average of 13K steps a day. I had to go out for my morning 5K (6000 ISH steps) run without my tracker. Moreover if I've lost the phone, I guess I've lost all that data! Jury's out on whether having a minor obsession with self-tracking is good or bad, but at least I'm alert to this now!
Fourthly, I've learnt that I should slow down and get back into meditation properly. I've let this slip recently.
Fifthly, it's prompted me to read books more: I did mean to bring one with me this a.m. but forgot. (Obviously I really do need a break!)
Finally, it's reminded me to try and see the positive in everything - despite the initial minor panic, I think there is a lot of good in losing this phone: in the long term it's made me realise all of the above. In short, I supposed it's reminded me that i need to use this whole time of leaving work as a 'pause and reset' time, rather than just carrying on with old habits, which I kind of was doing for the last 10 days since selling my flat.
PostScript: on getting a new phone and finding my old one...
I now have a new phone.... in fact I found out less than 18 hours after 'losing' the old one that all I'd done is left it on a particular table at work, and found it in my pigeon hole. I just wish the person who'd found it would have emailed me!
With a two year old lately I've found it hard to find time to sit peacefully to work on my laptop or phone. My daughter always climbs on me and fights to "play" with them. This past month I decided to give up and let my daughter have all of me and I'm technology free all but a few days each week. It really is refreshing to be free of my tech. addiction. It's so easy to get lost in the fun of laptops and smartphones that you don't realize how good life feels to be free of technology to spend time enjoying life.
Very well said, thanks for the additional motivation to spend time off line!
As you say, there are more important things!
Going offline feels so weird now. It's like something is missing.
The online phenomenon has also killed my attention span. Always jumping from one thing to anot
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It's not a bad thing to be constantly connected. in fact, it's how most of us prefer it. I know I do; most of my stuff is online, even my books. I do agree, though, regarding the meditation part. I need to follow suit, there's stuff in the otherworld I've been lately ignoring, so thanks for that.
Cheers! Happy to serve as a useful reminder!
Indeed. Thanks.
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I broke my one a few months back and it was the most stress free two weeks between phones . After a while people got to know I was out of action so no one rang me . Work couldn’t contact me :Great. Had no access to Facebook so couldn’t spend time looking a “what Happened next is amazing” with some whale thanking fishermen that freed him from wire by breaching twice. My wife was happy because I wasn’t glued to my screen . It was good . Wouldn’t like to do it again mind but the two week break made me not use it as much
It is a wake up call isn't it - a reminder to spend chunks of time every day and maybe even one or two days per week!
It's all about balance at the end of the day.
Many things that could be a lesson for us, as long as we want to think.
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