Inspired by 
@heymattsokol and an episode of a Dutch documentary series called 'the outsiders', where a woman in her 60s talks about getting sick of cellphones and all wireless machines - which reminded me of the older brother of the main character in 'Better Call Saul - I'm gonna try to ignore my phone for a bit, starting today.
Before you continue reading, here's
So how much exactly do I use my smartphone?
Let's be honest, it's next to ( or sometimes on ) my bed and I grab it as soon as I wake up in the morning.
This morning, after my breakfast and coffee, I received a notification on my phone informing me that I had used ( looked at ) my screen 24% less than last week. I think it was 24%, I'm not gonna check it as I aim to ignore my phone for a bit today.
For the record, I'm writing / typing this on my laptop. I never post on my phone. The same goes for commenting and upvoting other people's work, I only use my laptop for that.
So what do I do on my phone?
First thing in the morning, I tend to check the cryptomarket on coincheckup.com or coinmarketcap.com. I sometimes start out by checking the cryptonews on newsnow cryptocurrency
Breakfast ( and coffee ) time for me is usually 100% focused on exactly that, enjoying my breakfast and coffee. Nevertheless, I usually carry my phone on me, from the moment I'm dressed ( and no, I don't wear dresses ) onwards.
By the way, for those of you that don't know, iPhones have a health app that counts your steps. And, as I'm very much focused on health these days, I am kind of 'addicted' to that app. Whenever I'm not having my phone on me, my steps aren't registered and it seems like I'm not moving enough. I like to see as high a number as possible on that step counter at the end of the day. But not today. While writing this, I haven't got my phone on me and on the lunch outing - that my sister's family and I are gonna go on in a bit - I plan not to take my phone with me.
In fact, while writing this, I am already thinking of cutting down on my phone use even more. Forget the step counter ( my memory is good enough to know whether I'm active enough or not ). Forget about the compulsory browsing on the internet ( especially checking the coinmarket ). I'm sure it won't affect the market as much as just positive ( or negative ) thinking will do.
One thing I'd like to keep doing though, is using my daily calm app to meditate. Not just because I paid for a year long membership ( for the second year in a row ) but also because I love to see the streak that I'm on increasing. I almost regret that I apparently missed (?) a day ( and that I'm only on a 35 day streak now ) as I was trying to make it to a year in a row.
But, honestly, let's remind ourselves of this:
What was a phone originally meant for?
Calling - and later - messaging, right? So that's what I will try to focus on, again, from now on.
Later today, I will ( not for the first time ) delete my internet browser from my phone and see if I can cut down on any more apps.
I will probably keep my discord chat app, as it seems to work better than the app on my laptop and it's the app that connects me to all my Steemit and Whaleshares friends.
For now, I will also keep Whatsapp ( to stay in touch with family and some friends that I can't connect with in other places ) and Telegram ( mainly for crypto chatting and to stay informed on the crypto space ).
I am seriously considering to stop using Whatsapp, but I feel that will take some more time.
Right now, I realize that I also use my phone for photography. iPhones take sweet pictures and - with my visual upbringing and education - people tend to ask me to take pictures. But, I shouldn't forget that I still have a GoPro hero 5 black, an action cam that also takes pretty cool pictures. So, who knows, I might stop taking pictures with my phone or at least seriously cut down on the amount of pictures I take.
I will do a more thorough check in on what I use my phone for, later today, to see if I've forgotten anything but I already feel that it's pretty easy to cut down on its use. And, while pondering this, I automatically start to feel better and healthier.
What about you? How much do you use your phone? Do you feel like cutting down on the amount of hours? How are you gonna do this?
TO BE CONTINUED...