I prepared for my detox with the best intentions. The night before, I turned off all of my cellular data and WiFi calling, and I asked my husband to set his alarm, as opposed to using my phone's alarm. Good, right? I fell asleep giddy, knowing that I was about to break the smartphone hold on my life.
Welp. Hopes and dreams only get you so far.
I woke up and instinctively reached for my phone. I reminded myself, "Jen, you're free now. Enjoy the scenery. Breathe in the fresh air." I lasted about four minutes before I reached for my phone again. "But how will I know the weather?" I thought. "Will I have to watch the actual Weather Channel?" As the day went on, the questions and adjustments continued.
Since I work from home, all of my work is done via my phone or computer (mostly phone). As I attempted to log in to my email on my computer, I realized immediately that I have all of my passwords stored on my phone. I physically could not log in to my computer to do my work. It was a modern-day "the dog ate my homework" excuse, except it was "the smartphone ate my passwords." Frustrated, I attempted to stay "yogi" about it and told myself that what's meant to be will be.
This mindset worked well as long as I was distracted by my daughter. Once she went down for her nap around noon, it's as if I finished a seven-day food cleanse, and I binged on every piece of technology I could find.
I told myself that the first day is always the hardest and that I would do better tomorrow. "Baby steps," I said. Yeah, that's what they all say.
