5 Incredible Benefits of not having a phone!

1. More free time.

One of the first things I’ve noticed about not having a phone is all the free time you have now. Think about the couple of seconds and minutes that you spent scrolling on your phone every time you have a moment, that time adds up. You can use all this newfound free time to be productive. The extra hour you gain can be used to catch up on work, read, procrastinate in other ways, or take a nap.

 

2. No more annoying apps.

Tinder, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Life without immediate access to these social apps is a lot less complicated. You start to lose the urge to stalk people on Facebook (Don’t act like you don’t), see who’s saying what about who subliminally on Twitter, and eventually you stop caring about a random snap chat or what your ex had for lunch on Instagram. Without a phone you start to live life without the fear of missing out on what your online “friends” are doing.

 

3. People don’t bother you anymore.

Smart phones are a source of anxiety, for a number of reasons, but mainly because they give so many other people access to you. Sometimes you don’t want to hear from anyone, and without a phone, people stop bothering you all the time, which is key if you are a person who appreciates some time alone. There are no new notifications to keep track of, no random drunk messages on the weekends, or annoying snapchat stories to go through. You get to talk and hear from the people who you want to hear more about. In a way, not having a phone gives you greater control over who you interact with in life.

 

4. Other ways of communicating are more in depth, and more insightful.

The best thing about not having a phone is that you don’t text anymore. I hate texting and everything that comes with it. Imagine a world where you don’t have to play the waiting game, decipher the tone of a text, or ask your friends to interpret an ambiguous message. No need to imagine, because that’s what the world was like up until the early 2000’s and it was awesome. Besides “old fashion” face to face communication, there’s also Skype, writing an actual letter, or emailing; hell even Facebook messaging beats texting. These other forms of communicating are more in depth, and more insightful and because of that, more rewarding and beneficial for you.

 

5. You actually start to make real plans.

The biggest challenge for me without a phone is that you actually have to start making real plans. Before, I was able to text a friend when I’m already near by and figure out plans from there. Now I have to actually plan things ahead, and it’s amazing. People are a lot less flaky when you ask them to make a commitment to a time and place in advance.

Forgive those who Rain on your Parade

 

(I originally submitted this article to Thought Catalog, but I’m not sure it’s going to be published, which is fine, just means I have to work harder on my writing!)

Celebrations are a part of life, whether you are graduating from school, received a new promotion at work, or entered a new relationship, celebrations are an opportunity to make an event special and memorable with friends and family. However, there are people in your own life that can not help but rain on your parade and try to bring you down in your moment of happiness. Don’t get mad at these people, instead forgive them and throw them their own parade, so to speak, because people who constantly rain on your parade are those who need one the most.

Those who can not wait to bring others down do so because they are jealous of what you have and what you have accomplished. It goes beyond a simple graduation or promotion, but rather they are envious that you have people in your life to celebrate with, people who care and support your goals. Understand that those who rain on your parade do so because they don’t have that same type of support group in their own life.

 Trying to bring someone down during their moment of joy is simply mean. However, people do so because they hope that lashing out and putting people down will in turn make them feel better about their life. Happy people are able to enjoy and support other people’s successes. People who rain on your parade are miserable, and more than anything need a friend.

So next time you catch someone raining on your parade, don’t dismiss that person as annoying, or bitchy, realize that they’re in a bad place in life and can probably use a parade of their own. Understand that it’s probably not personal, forgive them, because we should all be happy for each other successes!