Book Notes: The "Detached" 21-Day Challenge

Image created in Stencil.[/caption] I'm fighting my way through T.J. Burdick's Detached, which is a good sign that I really needed this book. Detached: Put Your Phone in Its Place (OSV) challenges readers to rethink how they use their phones. Awareness is key to the whole process, and I'm becoming painfully aware of my own lack of self-discipline when it comes to using my phone.

Waiting in line at the supermarket? Check email.
Before putting my car key in the ignition? Take a quick peek at Twitter or Facebook.
Waiting for the water to boil for tea in the morning? Cue up Instagram.

All those times, there are other, better things I could be doing. I'm not going to say that email and social media are bad things. Facebook and Instagram allow me to keep in touch with my cousins, many of whom live far away, as well as friends old and new. Social media is also job-related for me. It's really easy to give in to the temptation to use my phone unnecessarily. I pick up my phone a lot. And I do not intend to get rid of my phone or stop carrying it around with me. Here's why:

My husband and kids text me during the day about changes in plans, or with questions about plans.
I like being able to check the weather.
If I miss a call on our home phone, voicemail forwards to my phone as a text message, so urgent calls can be answered immediately.
I enjoy listening to podcasts while I fold laundry, wash the floors, or drive.
One of my sons has type 1 diabetes, and we use an app to monitor his blood sugar. While he's a quite independent teenager, we keep in touch frequently (by text, usually) regarding adjustments he needs to make (insulin dosing or snacks).

I've been keeping a journal as I go through Detached. I will admit that I did not (and will not) sign on for a full-on 21-day technology retreat. (Again, social media is job-related.) Also, I'm not yet done reading the book. But this process is definitely making me think twice about how, where, when, and why I use my phone. For several months already, I've had an email boundary in place. A change in mail servers meant that email for one of my jobs was not longer accessible on my phone, and I decided to turn off phone access for email for my other job as well. This means that I can only use my work email when I'm on my laptop, and I have not missed the ability to reply to work emails from the checkout line in the supermarket (yes, I have been guilty of doing that). So the boundary has been good for me. While the author recommends a total 21-day social media fast (involving deleting the apps from the phone), I didn't go there, as I said above. I did, however, find out how to use the Screen Time feature in iOS to keep me accountable for the time I use on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There was a bit of a bump in the road with that, because I use Skype to communicate with my coworkers, and that was counting as social media time. But thanks to some helpful replies to an SOS I sent out (on Twitter -- oh, the irony) I got it figured out, and that little popup reminder telling me that I have 5 minutes left for the day is a good indicator for me that I do need that extra help setting boundaries. I like having a tiny but mighty computer in my pocket. I like that I can keep in touch with family, friends, and coworkers easily -- no matter where I am. I like that I can help my son stay healthy. I like knowing when that predicted thunderstorm will roll through. I like listening to podcasts that edify, entertain, and educate me while I do repetitive chores. In Detached, T.J. Burdick isn't asking me to give up any of those good things. He's challenging me to be more intentional about whether I am efficiently consuming and producing content (11), or just wasting time.