My activities without a phone.

Technological advancement has helped humanity in diverse forms. Smartphones have established themselves as tools that ease stress for humans.

Access to information that was hitherto very difficult has been made easy with smartphones. I remember the days of going to cybercafes to buy browsing time in order to have access to information. I remember when people used to travel to deliver messages. The message that would today be passed with just the dial of phone digits took days with attendant risks in the pre-phone era to be delivered.

Smartphones came and made life easier. It provides access to information and communication, platforms for businesses, libraries to students and researchers, working tools for different kinds of persons across the globe and many more.

I have come to the realization that I can hardly do without a phone. In most of my endeavors, my phone plays unique roles. It is my companion in many ways. Despite its importance to me, I controlled the addiction a few years ago. Prior to that experience, my phone was controlling me instead of the other way round.

I was an undergraduate and in the semester under review, it affected me negatively. I would go to class to read and would end up chatting and playing with my phone without reading. At the end of the semester, the effect of the addiction was obvious in my results. I got lower grades than the preceding semesters. It was at that point that I decided to have total control over my phone at any time. I was deliberate about it and at the end of it, I achieved my aim. Ever since then, I can conveniently drop my phone for hours or days (except to use it for the basics like making calls) and concentrate on other tasks.

One of such activities that can make me drop my phone aside in order to concentrate is reading. I love reading hardcover books instead of the soft copies. The reason for this is the negative effects of phone screen lights on my sight. Whenever I have a book that I am interested in reading, I easily drop my phone in order to concentrate on the book. During examinations, I do the same so that I can have the needed time to read and prepare for my papers.

The second thing that can keep my phone away from me is playing board games like draft or ludo. Right from when I was small, I was conversant with board games and the coming of smartphones into my life couldn't alter the love for the game.

Sometimes, I would just decide to take a walk in the evening while I leave my phone at home. Whenever I do that, it affords me the opportunity to reflect on some aspects of my life. Without my phone, I think deeply and appraise my journey so far - the good decisions that I took and the mistakes that I made. I use the opportunity to set an agenda for myself in order to work on my weaknesses and build on my strengths.

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If I wanted to maximize such a period, I would go and sit on a rock or a garden where my companions would just be nature - no call, no beeping of phones and no distractions from passersby that would want to greet and initiate discussions.

In conclusion, I must reiterate the fact that phones have become an almost inseparable companion but in the few cases that I have to drop phones to achieve a task, I discipline myself to do so without hesitation.