On life without a smartphone

Reconnect to the world.

A few weeks ago, I made a firm decision.

I swapped out my iPhone for a flip phone.

And man, does the world feel more brighter and beautiful as a result.

Over the course of this post, I’m going to share why I felt I needed to break my smartphone addiction, how I’m going about it and how I hope to maintain this state of separation.

And if you’re interested in doing the same, you may find this missive incredibly helpful.

Before I dive in, there are a few things I’d like to immediately outline.

Really achieving peak-hipster here.

I’m not a Luddite

For the most part, I like technology and find it useful. This is more about taking back control and turning my phone into a tool, rather a controlling device that rules over my entire life and being.

The end-game isn’t being ‘more productive’

While I’d like my focus and attention back, this isn’t about streamlining things, so I can become more productive and thus produce more work.

I just want to feel more alive. Don’t we all? Basically, I want to disconnect to reconnect with the world around me.

There’s no judgement here

I don’t want you to walk away from this post feeling judged, or like a ‘smartphone addiction’ is anything to be ashamed of. These devices have embedded themselves in our lives in a way that has been beyond our control and for many of us, our desire.

They’re designed to be addictive. It doesn’t make you any less because of this.

This is why for me, doing things like ‘dumbing down my iPhone’ ultimately failed.

I deleted most of my apps. I tried greyscaling my phone. I’d put it away for a whole day and find myself just as addicted and consumed by it, when I next picked it up. Absence on the other hand, makes the heart go wander.

I have my smartphone as a back-up, for now

For now, I’ve kept my iPhone. It’s currently switched off and filed away, and there it will stay, unless a clear purpose or need arises. I’ve outlined possible reasons below, but I will dig it out primarily when:

1. I go hiking – it’ll stay switched off in my backpack, but it does have satellite capabilities and mapping, which could be useful in an emergency.

2. I travel interstate or overseas – I’d like to build up the courage to travel without it, but I’ll think this may be a try and see in time kinda thing.

3. Hotspotting – I was grateful to have the smartphone on hand just last week when the internet in my suburb went down for the entire working day. I slipped my sim back in and worked off the hotspot for eight hours.

This is a long and detailed post, so make yourself a cuppa before you settle in. It’s also for paid subscribers only. If you find this resource valuable and you have the means, I hope you’ll consider supporting my writing. You’ll have access to the entire archive and posts on topics such as solo camping and nature connection. Merci en bisous. 💋

The great swap-out

Having thought seriously about this for awhile, I hadn’t realised I’d made some fundamental swaps and changes to how I organise myself over the last few years, which has helped make this transition easier.

Music & podcasts

To my understanding from reading comments from other would be downgraders on the Internet, this is the thing that wigs people out the most. We’re used to having access to noise, to distraction, whether it be music, podcasts or audiobooks.