Cellphone

Spending six hours without my cellphone was a very difficult task for me because I have created an android dependency without being aware of it. I personally don’t make too many calls; instead I use excessively the Whatsapp Application for free text messages, and what makes me dependent or attached to it is the feeling of being “connected” to my friends and family at any time. At first, it was frustrating, I went through the anxiety of finding it and turning it on but gladly I did not; the same kind of anxiety I have experienced in the past when I went to a meeting and I had suddenly touched my pocket to feel my missing cellphone, only to find it minutes later in my purse.

Then, I told myself “it´s going to be just 6 hours, I can handle that, I will be okay”, and tried to concentrate on other matters. I am glad today that I was able to accomplish a lot of things without my cellphone and computer in those 6 hours. First, I got some homework done rather quickly; it took me no more than two hours to read four chapters of two different subjects, Archeology and American Politics. After that, I wrote some basic ideas on a piece of paper in relation to an assignment I needed to do later. Then I went to the Supermarket and came back to my room, where I placed all the groceries in the kitchen and refrigerator. And finally, I went out for dinner at a local restaurant.

Perhaps the most difficult task I had to adjust to without my cellphone was reading, because I have acquired in the last few years the bad habit of checking my cellphone constantly, especially when I felt bored or distracted. Nonetheless, I tried to concentrate on my reading, which was hard at the beginning, but as I kept doing it, the cellphone anxiety went away and I honestly felt really good with myself.

After the 6 hours passed, I didn’t felt the urgent necessity to run and turn the cellphone or the computer on. I confess that I am happily surprised that I was able to go about during 6 hours of my day without my cellphone and computer, and engaged instead in very productive work. I am now convinced that I wouldn’t have been able to finish my homework and other tasks in time with my cellphone or computer around. At the end of the day, I really felt relieved that I didn’t have to be expecting anxiously at all times, as I had before, all the multiple notifications, e-mails and Whatsapp messages I normally receive on any day of my life.