20 Sep 2017

Think about all the times you’ve been so distracted you haven’t even thought of picking up your phone. Maybe it was when you went out to dinner with a friend you hadn’t seen since primary school and had so much catching up to do you forgot to check your phone.

Maybe it was when you were laughing so hard that all you could focus on was calming down before the teacher told you off for disrupting the class. Whatever it was, remember how good it was to have a moment where you weren’t thinking about the likes, comments or whether people knew what you were doing?

1. Your friends

Laugh with your friends until your eyes are blurry with tears and you’re struggling to get air into your lungs between giggles. Walk home from school and bitch about what happened during your last class and complain about how much homework you’re getting. Look your friend in the eye instead of down at your phone while they bawl their eyes out because they failed their exam or had a fight with their parents. Tell them how you’re feeling without a screen separating you.

2. The beach

Go to the beach and leave your phone in the car because you don’t want it to get sandy. Cover yourself in sunscreen, lay on your towel and feel your skin getting warmer. Walk along rock pools with bare feet and wriggle your fingers in the warm pools of water. Run into the water and duck your head under the waves without freaking out that you left your phone in your pocket.

Forget about staging photos of you tanning, or sitting on a rock. At the end of the day appreciate the new freckles that exist on your arms, across your nose and on your cheeks and rub Aloe Vera on your sunburnt shoulders. Don’t snap a photo of your new tan lines.

3. Exercise

Go for a run or head to the gym: feel the strength coursing through your legs. Push yourself to keep going even after every part of you is screaming to stop. One foot in front of the other, again and again and again. Stop when you need to and feel the relief that comes with filling your lungs up with deep breaths.

Feel the ache of your muscles and know that you ran hard without checking how many kms your phone says you did. Revel in the fact that your body is capable of pushing itself to the limit without putting a photo on Insta.

4. Sleep

Lay in bed without the blue glow from your phone keeping you awake. Set your alarm and put your phone on charge out of reach and out of sight.

Get comfortable without worrying if your charging cord will reach that side of the bed and lay with your hands tucked up under your pillow instead of in front of your face.

5. Work

Don’t keep your phone in your pocket during your shift. Talk to your co workers during the parts of the day when it’s dead and let the customers take your attention when it’s busy. Realise how nice it is to not need to scramble to hide your phone every time you hear your manager coming or to feel a notification buzzing every five minutes.

Remember that life goes on even if you don’t check your phone for a couple of hours and that anyone who is trying to reach you can wait until you clock off.