5 benefits of living without a smart phone

I will admit, the first month  without my iPhone was tough, tough, tough. I second guessed my choice several times, I mourned, I was angry, I bargained, I was in denial. All of it.

After a month things started to get better and better, and they just haven't stopped. I knew I had a lot of addictive behaviors when it came to my phone, namely INSTAGRAM, pinterest and TEXTING. But I never realized that life was moving faster than I could keep up. Which kept me in a constant flustered state. Like a camera that can never focus until you slow down, that was my daily life.

I've had some time to reflect and I would say the top 5 bonuses of not having a smart phone are these:


1. BETTER MEMORY. my memory is getting better. appointments, phone numbers, dates. no joke, after several weeks the digital cobwebs are clearing and i feel more present every day. my brain clouded with social media in my pocket all the time and my face in my phone. now i feel the temperature of the room differently, the sunset, my children's faces, people's voices, my clothes, even reading is different.

2. SLEEP. I sleep  sounder. I wake up more alert. I am less cranky. What's not to love about that?

3. TIME. I have SO MUCH FLIPPING TIME ON MY HANDS. I'm not even joking. Laundry? Yes, I have time to fold and put away. Talk on the phone with a good friend? Yup, I have time for that and can fold the laundry at the same time. Manage emails, write on the blog? Yes and yes. I would say without my smart phone I have at least 1-2 extra hours a day. Yikes. I'm reading about a book a week holla! That makes my heart so happy.

some of my favorite reads lately, obviously in a self help phase.

4. FREEDOM. I am not a slave to technology. I can run errands, drive on vacation, watch a movie with my kids, take a walk, go on a dinner date without thinking about posting it, or thinking about what other people are doing. Is that a cute photo? I hardly ever think that anymore.  Selfies? No more my friends. Just doesn't work with a nikon lol. But guess what? More people died this year from SELFIES than from SHARK ATTACKS. When will we wake up? Sharks, that eat small dolphins for snacks are SAFER THAN SELFIES. What the hell is happening to our society?

5. Real Relationships, Real Conversations. I am a better mom without my iPhone. I am a more present companion to my husband. I would say 99% of the people reading this have a smart phone, but I have to be honest. Who I care about talking to and spending my time with has decreased dramatically. And in all full disclosure honesty, most of my friends' social media accounts I want to drown in diesel gasoline. They irritate me, I feel insecure, unhappy with what I have, unhappy with my daughter's hair, unhappy with my couch throw pillows, or lack thereof. But those same friends in real life? I LOVE talking to. I love hearing about their REAL lives and their kids and homes. I value every one on one conversation i have with them.   Now I am happy if I bump into someone, I'm happy to catch up with them (because I truly don't know what's going on with them). No judging someone because I know where they've been (or what or what they haven't been) doing.

* Today I actually  had my first non-smart phone downfall today, I couldn't download a coupon at a store I wasn't planning on going to. Boo-hoo. I think I'll live. And this music video my beautiful cousin posted on Facebook (yes, I still visit social media when I have time to) is stuck in my head. It is so scary what digital social media relationships are doing to us, and now to our children. Likes, follows, comments, all wrapped up into one strange and lonely virtual world. http://youtu.be/UKftOH54iNU