Cell Phone Usage

I never had a cell phone and never felt I really needed a cell phone until my husband bought me one. It is interesting. Now I can text my friends, call my husband from the store and check my email. I can shop for things I need and read books. I can study languages and look up birds I see in my back yard. And I can watch movies and play games at the table, on the couch and even in bed!

You can see where this is going and probably anyone who has one especially if they have internet, will find it can easily eat up a big portion of your day. It is so easy to find myself tapping away at a screen when I should be making dinner, disciplining the kids or whatever else I need to do. I never have enough time to get everything done in a day, but somehow I make the time for things on my phone.

What do my kids see when I do that. Mom zoned out staring at a screen. Do I really want them to have a disconnected mom and teach them to disconnect from the world like that when there are so many other things that we can and should be doing? There is a place for screens and I have learned so many things and found having a phone helpful in so many ways. But there should be a time and place for it and use for it.

Every once in a while I find myself gravitating toward overuse of my phone. I had an especially tiring week and just wanted to rest the last couple days. I downloaded a couple games and found it was difficult to tear myself away from it. I kept being drawn back to it to see what had changed while I was gone. So addicting! I took the big step and deleted them this morning because I could see it was really eating up my time and distracting me.

I like to keep my phone on the charger. I get it out in the morning to check my email and look up the weather and put it back on the charger after. In the evenings after the kids are in bed is really the best time for me. I can write emails, text and shop without my kids needing me every few seconds. This time of day I am winding down and it is a good time to sit on the couch and have some leisure time. It is funny that I find it is the best time to text with other moms too because it is their best time too once the kids are in bed.

I don't want my phone to become a distraction to my responsibilities. My house is way more messy when I am on my phone more and although I think it will only take a minute to check it almost always takes more. I want to feel rested through the day, not like I'm jumping from one thing to the next. I mean, I already am because that is the way it is with young kids, but I don't need to add to it with the constant distraction of checking my phone throughout the day.

My goal is to leave the phone in my room on the charger for the majority of the day when I need to attend to my responsibilities and be using it almost exclusively in the evening and take with me when I go out. My husband and I are having our phone plans changed to reflect that: Talk and text- and access to the internet at home.