Who knew that in the year 2018 that one of the hardest things to do would be to disconnect. I guess if the Jetsons was any indicator, we had an inkling of an idea of what was to come. Even they didn’t full get the mobile thing except for faces on watches of course… Granted I figured we’d have flying cars by now. I blame Musk for this, at least on some level.
My main 3 ways to disconnect are pretty simple. There are many more ways to disconnect, more inventive ways, I assume. One thing I find difficult for myself is that as I run Ambit, it’s hard to not feel like I always “need” to be connected. But after years of my current setup, disconnecting as much as possible is the best way to stay creative and innovative as a business owner. You have to be able to step back and see the bigger picture if you hope to make tough decisions and stay on track with short and long term goals and markers.
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash
#1: The phone gets put down at the dinner table and left somewhere in the house.
Now this seems a little vague when I typed it up but hear me out. At the dinner table, it gets silenced and gets put face down or left in the pocket. This has to be sacred time with my family. I don’t always do this well but it’s something we have aimed to do as a family for a long time. With the boys wanting to enjoy the park at the end of the fall here, they are usually busting out the door to get back to the park but we at least spend a little time at the table, phoneless and focused on each other.
Kids playing
#2: We’ll use one of our phones to play music in the house on a bluetooth speaker.
This does a similar thing as the first option, I’m more likely to leave the phone near the speaker and we can jam out to some music while hanging out, cleaning or playing. Again, focus on the family and clearing the head from work things.
The “left somewhere in the house” part is if I go outside to play and watch the kids or go to play with them, I’m fine with leaving it wherever I was last. Still on silent. I want to be present with my family and boy the phone doesn’t help us do that.
There’s an intimacy to being present…
#3: Eye contact.
If we aren’t making eye contact with our friends and family. Then our attention is elsewhere, plain and simple. If the tv is on, 95% of the time, our attention is there. If our phone is in our hand, we are somewhere on social media. If we’re not listening and asking questions and hearing our family and friends. We’re probably distracted.