Today I took one of my sons to our local Pokémon League meetup. He has a phone, so I was to drop him off and he could text me if he needed anything while I was Christmas shopping. But as I started to leave, I suddenly realized my phone wasn't in any of my pockets. I left it on the charger at home! It was kind of an unexpected shock. I casually told my teenage son he wouldn't be able to text me, but I'd be elsewhere in the mall and return before too long, so no worries. Yet once I went Christmas shopping, concern gripped me.
At first, I wasn't sure if or how I could function without my smartphone. I was going store to store, looking at potential Christmas gifts on the outside. Meanwhile, I really felt unsettled on the inside. Was it safe to leave my teen? How would my wife contact me? And I even felt a strong sense of apprehension for being totally disconnected from anyone. Though surrounded by people in public, I felt completely on my own. It was weird.
Not only that, I realized that I couldn't look up anything online to research or verify info about items I saw for sale. And I couldn't take a picture of a gift in order to remember and buy it later should I decide to do so. The normal tasks I do with my smartphone and take for granted were suddenly out of my reach. It felt like lack of control. I guess it was like the feeling you get if you're car runs out of gas and your stuck on the side of the road, or you have a flat tire and no spare.
Keep in mind, nothing bad was actually happening. I just realized something bad could happen and I'd have no help without my phone. So not having my phone felt bad. But should it?
Another small yet unsettling effect was that I couldn't even tell the time! I quit wearing my Apple Watch a few weeks ago and instead rely on my phone's clock. Without it today, I realized that I had no clock within reach to even know the current time. How strange!
It took about 30 minutes for me to finally not be concerned about potential problems from lacking my always connected smartphone. It was still weird, but I was okay. Later, I bought a hot caramel macchiato and looked at the date/time stamp on the receipt to note the current time. So if you ever find yourself without your phone or watch, you can find time on a receipt (low-tech life hack). Wink-wink.
At the coffee shop, patiently waiting for caffeine to kick in, I set up my iPad that I intentionally brought with me (yet forgot my iPhone) so I could do some journaling and blogging. Thankfully, since I've leaned into local files, I could easily work offline. My iPad also has a clock so I could tell the time. Then it occurred to me to try finding free public wifi so I could iMessage my wife and teen son where I was. That worked out well too. My son texted me back. And it made me glad to have a web-based instant message solution since I was without SMS texting from my iPad.
I guess the lesson here is: don't forget your phone. And otherwise, be less attached to a smartphone if at all possible. Suddenly going without a phone is about as panic-inducing as unexpectedly losing electricity at your house during a storm. At first, you don't know how to function. But you adapt. I think it's better to be more prepared in advance. Also, this post is another indication that I may be a little too addicted to my smartphone. Duly noted.