Put Your Phones Down: Why We All Could Use A Break From Technology

Cell phones are great. They offer a variety of privileges and advantages: photography made easy, communicating quickly and, of course, the included entertainment value.

It’s become a much-needed item to carry for daily personal, professional and emergency use. People spend so much valuable time sending messages, taking photos and scrolling through an assortment of apps.

In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, a healthy break from the cell phone is highly beneficial.

Consider a moment when you find yourself in need of communicating with someone you hold dear to your heart. You try calling the person, messaging a couple times and still, no answer.

The anxiety manifests into a question of whether or not he or she is avoiding you or doing other tasks that don’t involve a cell phone (or actually prohibit the use of it, like say, driving).

It can be startling to a person to receive these panicky messages and may even come off as immature. In most cases, after two messages with no answer, it’s best to just wait for an eventual response because you just might be disrupting whatever this person is actually engaged it, such as a meeting or lecture.

There are also those moments when you feel lonely and all you want to do is talk to someone. So, you talk to everyone; you call or text basically anyone in your contact list.

Some people are awkward about phone calls or simply prefer if people have actual reasons for communicating. It may sound silly, but it may be the case.

Getting caught up in these scenarios can be very time damaging to the productivity of your day — especially when you need your hands for something else.

If you’re in the middle of any given task, constantly checking your messages is distracting from your momentum. No matter what it is you're engaged in, your entire experience can be ruined if you’re busy checking who posted what, when and how.

Had any moments when you’re sitting with your family and your phone keeps going off and they get irritated with you? If so, then you need a break.

Seriously, cut your cell phone service, including all those text and Internet bundles. Yes, turn off your phone service. It will still work in an emergency.

Of course, only do this if you still have a landline; otherwise, it will just cause stress and havoc in your life. If you don’t have a landline, limit the amount of time you leave your cell phone turned on, or have it with you.

When you’re home alone and mindlessly texting with friends for hours, simply turn off your phone and focus your energy on something useful and productive. Better yet, go spend time with those friends in person!

You can start to see the people who really want to keep in contact with you if you stop contacting everyone you know. A cell phone break or a healthy service cut can show you what things you should be doing but are putting off because your social streams are getting in the way.

An opportunity to spend a day without your phone gives you the chance to spend more time really immersing yourself in your environments. Work to be able to notice all the sounds and sights around you and not feel the need to take an unnecessary photograph that couldn’t possibly convey the beauty of what you see right in front of you.

Especially if you’re going out there to enjoy nature, leave that pesky device in the car or at home so you can enjoy the time without any distractions.

Whether it’s for just a day, an hour-long adventure or when you’re home alone, taking a break from your cellular device is refreshing. I’ve gone about a year without one and it is extremely freeing. I find myself actively flourishing in the things I love the most, and those I failed to noticed my admiration for with my phone in hand.

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