Often when I’m running into the store or post office or bank, I bring my iPhone in to help relieve some of the boredom involved with standing in line. I bury my nose in a screen and only lift it up when it’s my time to interact with another person. While I sometimes save myself from looking at boring office furniture or the back of someone’s head, I’m also missing out on the scene around me or an important opportunity to just zone out.
My challenge? Leave the iPhone in the car (or the purse or the office). It’s small, it’s do-able, and the world won’t end.
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Lisa Fine - Nice. I think it’s so important to find times to disconnect, as hard as it can be.
I don’t have a smart phone yet, and am debating whether I really want one for some of the reasons you’ve mentioned. I still like to bring a book or magazine with me when I know I’ll be waiting around for a while.
Teresa - That is actually a form of mindfulness meditation: being where you are, not judging it as good or bad, and just understanding that that is how you feel and it will pass. It comes in handy in so many situations (I used mindfulness meditation techniques A LOT this winter driving home in sloppy weather or heavy traffic).
Not being a big cell phone person I also like to use time spent in lines or wherever as a chance to observe what is going on around me. It is funny what you notice. I take a walk almost every day at lunch and instead of focusing on a destination or power walking I try to notice as much as I can about what is around me. That is how I discovered a family of sparrows living in both the E and S in the WEGMANS sign on Essjay Road. Now I go over that way on purpose to watch them.