Don’t look down

5 hours today. That’s how much time I spent on my iPhone. 30 minutes timing my meditation and preps. 90 minutes tonight listening / watching YouTube videos for study. 30 minutes of standing idle (still on never lock). 60 minutes in notes (including this one). 90 minutes networking and communication.

Pretty standard – the rest of the day at my laptop (say 9 hours) accessing much the same stuff. I rarely watch TV. But nor do I leave the house…so 5 hours on my iPhone !?

Time control

Multitasking is to do several tasks badly. My iPhone wants me to come back. So it finds ways to tempt me in. Seeing this, being this, trusting my iPhone to run my day. Even at my desk it’s my third screen, and notifications prompt.

Spatial control

When I break from my desk, it comes with me. Finding sitting positions dictated by power sockets and WiFi reception. My iPhone wants the best seat for itself. I look around my house and realise I often sit with it in mind. Even my quiet spaces are set to keep it close. Seeing this, being compliant to its needs, trusting my ‘phone to rest for me.

Relationship control

Email account(s), social media platforms, WhatsApp. Add to that now Teams, university email, lecture and assignment chat on Moodle. Plus the old school text messaging. Diary reminders. Zoom. These are links to the world. And my glue to my iPhone. I even have the occasional phone call.

My visible link. Enabling behaviours that maintain collaborations. Trusted dialogues but entrusted to my iPhone to keep discussion threads live.

Self-control

I think maybe here I need to revisit some basics. Reclaim some visibility of time, space, and my communication place. Bringing a little structure back to some basics of routine. Trusting myself to organise and prioritise, and less reliance upon my iPhone.

Visibility | Behaviour | Trust. Applied to my iPhone. My communication device, or a dopamine vice…