I honestly have to catch myself. Maybe making this the focus of this week’s reset will help me remember — and keep me accountable.
I can be enjoying a glass of wine to wind down the day or sitting at the patio table for dinner, and if my phone is within reach, I feel the pull. To check for notifications. To glance at an email that could absolutely wait until tomorrow. To check tomorrow’s weather for the third time today. To search for the most random facts — like how fast a hawk dives for its prey (which we often see in the vineyard just east of our backyard). While it is impressive to watch, I really didn’t need to know that number. But I’ll save you the search: up to 120 miles an hour.
The pull is so strong. And it wasn’t that long ago that this wasn’t part of our lives at all. We used to be satisfied with being unavailable or not needing to know every answer. Technology can be a huge blessing, but it can also pull our attention away from what matters: quality time with friends and family, or sometimes just quiet time for “brain space,” as I call it.
So, this week, I’m going to practice — which means I won’t get it perfect — leaving my phone on the counter more often, especially on those nights we step outside for dinner on the patio. That stretch of a summer evening right after dinner, when the heat finally lets go, and the light turns gold, only lasts so long. It doesn’t wait for you to finish scrolling. I want that time to go slow. For the evening to linger. To reclaim my ability to give my full attention to the people in front of me.
Maybe leaving the phone behind entirely doesn’t work for everyone — some of us need to be reachable for certain people in our lives. But I’m sure we can each take on a version of stepping away from the interruptions for a bit. Just wondering and not looking up that silly fact might be the best reset we can give ourselves.
