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I would love to get rid of my phone entirely but it doesn’t really feel like an option right now. I try to look at it as little as possible but my sense of time ranges from just accurate enough that I feel confident about it to so wildly inaccurate that I feel like I have to check up on it constantly if I have anything important to do on a given day. As a result I end up spending all day accessible and on social media when all I really want is to not be bothered or subjected to the algorithm. Lorelei was taking the EU to UK ferry earlier this summer and there were mad duty free watches - I realized I should just get one so I was like hey should I buy this watch and the love of my life Al was like you should do research and buy one you want at home instead of impulse buying some random watch on a boat and that was definitely the right call. I bought a weird box of shortbread with King Charles on it for my roommate instead. When I got home I bought a cheap casio watch and it honestly is the best - I always know what time it is and I think I cut my phone time in half.
14h ago
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Oh man I feel the phone thing. I went about 2 years with just a flip phone and it was revealing how much the urge to look at it for no reason was just second nature. Loved it though. Had to settle back into the matrix again when I got a new job.
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Like many others, I find myself in the weird middle of wanting (needing) some of the conveniences of modern tech, but not liking its pervasive domination over my life. Smartphones in particular are a source of need but don't want tension.
I've tried a lot of approaches to dealing with this and am now 24 hours into the latest try:
I got a used Apple Watch (starts at $130) with cellular capabilities. Added it to my mobile plan for an extra $9 a month.
Found a little case for the watch on Etsy for really cheap.
And my smartphone now basically stays at home, plugged in, more or less untouched.
When I go out, I carry around the "watch phone." I can text, call, listen to music and podcasts. Even check the weather, find directions, record a voice memo. I paid for coffee and a lemon blueberry glazed pastry using the watch phone today.
I don't wear the watch on my wrist, where it can distract and annoy. It stays in my pocket. And while I do need the phone for some things, like mobile banking, so far nothing there's nothing so urgent that it can't wait a couple hours until I get back to it.
Jun 17, 2025
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i have been on a journey to untangle my tasks from my iPhone.
i'd be out in the world someplace, pull out my phone for something as menial as checking the time, or as well intentioned as capturing the moment in a pic, and immediately get sucked into texts and instagram™️ and all the virtual things happening in this tiny lil demon light box.
the goal: pull my phone out of my bag ONLY for phone things. that's texting, calling, and apps that can't be replaced
the solutions so far: 🕰️ i started with a watch (shoutout Casio) and i wear it every day. once I broke the habit of checking my phone for the time, I felt legitimately freed from something Major 📷 I bought a small digital camera to leave in my bag. the pics look better and I don’t get distracted by the virtual world when I'm trying to capture something in the now 📚 I bought a kindle. It fits in my jacket pocket (literally) and gives me something to do when I'm on the train or waiting for an appointment that isn't scrolling
I just realized so much of the time I spent on my phone was not intentional. It was a thing I was doing in between Other intentional moments. my screen time is still several hours a day (don’t get me wrong) but I think my brain has healed at least 3%.
welcoming other ideas as well💡
i'd be out in the world someplace, pull out my phone for something as menial as checking the time, or as well intentioned as capturing the moment in a pic, and immediately get sucked into texts and instagram™️ and all the virtual things happening in this tiny lil demon light box.
the goal: pull my phone out of my bag ONLY for phone things. that's texting, calling, and apps that can't be replaced
the solutions so far: 🕰️ i started with a watch (shoutout Casio) and i wear it every day. once I broke the habit of checking my phone for the time, I felt legitimately freed from something Major 📷 I bought a small digital camera to leave in my bag. the pics look better and I don’t get distracted by the virtual world when I'm trying to capture something in the now 📚 I bought a kindle. It fits in my jacket pocket (literally) and gives me something to do when I'm on the train or waiting for an appointment that isn't scrolling
I just realized so much of the time I spent on my phone was not intentional. It was a thing I was doing in between Other intentional moments. my screen time is still several hours a day (don’t get me wrong) but I think my brain has healed at least 3%.
welcoming other ideas as well💡
Sep 24, 2024
Feb 5, 2024
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