a day without my device.

It finally happened. I picked up my cell phone and it was dead. I tried all the tricks, turned it off and back on about a zillion times. Nothing. I put it on the charger overnight. Nothing.

I did what any sensible working person does, I went to work without it. I knew I could go to the cell provider store and have them look at it after work. What I could not do was be late for work or call out to say I have a phone emergency.

At first, I was like a junky looking for my fix. At every stoplight on my long commute, I was reaching for my phone. At one point I considered it had fallen in the floorboard, then I remembered it was at home in my husband’s pocket. He was going to see if he could get it working.

What was I going to all day without my phone? No texting. No social media. No productivity. I needed to check my marketing outlets to see how my advertisements for my latest novel was progressing. I had to confirm the appointments on my calendar. How was I going to get through the day?

I had to rethink my workflow.

My calendar is also on paper, so I was good there. It could have easily been on my email client accessible on the desktop computer where all my marketing things live. I was able to check on all my work. Admittedly, not as often or as quickly as on my phone, but it was easy.

Then there is texting and staying in touch with humans. I used this amazing device called a landline. It is just for talking. I called to confirmed appointments, checked on family and the extra benefit, my husband called me a few times. I got to hear his voice throughout the day.

As for social media, I accessed it on my lunch hour and it took me almost the entire time to see what I had missed. This endless scroll brought to my attention that I have to weed out some of the groups and pages I follow. With limited time I realized that I went directly to the groups, profiles, and pages I care about and that number was significantly smaller than my total follows.

I had to use my brain to figure out how to access certain things, things that were usually at my fingertips. I had to remember things differently. I couldn’t pick up my phone and text a quick note to myself. I actually had to write it down. Then I discovered that if I didn’t write it down right then I forgot it a few minutes later.

During this day without my device, I discovered things about my self that I didn’t know or had chosen to ignore. Most notably, my attention span is short and stretched thin. My memory is terrible. My husband has a beautiful phone voice.

The funny thing is when I went to the store to get it fixed, there was nothing wrong with it. Turns out certain devices do not like aftermarket charging cables. I purchased a new charger and it works fine.

Overall the day without my device was not too bad and I did not die.

~Lori O’Gara