Turn Off Technology

The other night I got home from yoga, made my dinner while simultaneously checking Twitter and my text messages, sat down to eat, and was seriously perplexed at how I was going to use a fork and knife AND read my emails at the same time. Then I realized I needed an intervention. Step away from the iPhone. So many times I find myself absent-mindedly pushing the screen on my cell phone instead of just enjoying a quiet moment. So that's what I did. I threw my phone as far away from me as I could bear and I sat there and I enjoyed my dinner all by myself in peace and quiet. And it was miserable... but I did it. Which led me to wonder... when else have I become entirely dependent on my little mobile device to entertain me rather than to just appreciate that moment in time? I know I know, bear with me, I'm getting all zen & spiritual & weird but really, when was the last time you just sat quietly? I decided to make a list of the times when I am not going to instantly reach for my cell phone, but instead sit quietly or reach for the book that I always carry with me. It seems more wholesome, although if I'm reading about secret societies at Ivy league schools, is that really wholesome? Unclear.

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1. When I wake up in the AM. I roll over, shut off the alarm, and simultaneously push that little mail button, waiting until I hear the "ding" to wake me up again and then I read my emails. Lame!
2. While walking from the parking garage into work. Seriously -- I am going to be in the office in 4 minutes, my Tweets and emails can wait.
3. While eating dinner by myself at home. Maybe I'll try to focus on savoring my food instead of shoving it in my mouth as fast as humanly possible because I waited too long to eat because I was lazy. Is that just me? Surely it's not.
4. When I get bored in a meeting... HAHAHAHAHA sike. That's basically what smartphones were made for, anyway.
5. While I'm on the treadmill. It is a distraction, but there is also a TV, a magazine, and a gajillion other people milling around to distract me. (I've actually started getting into the habit of just leaving my phone at home. I know, how could I? But seriously, I have lived to tell the tale, so it's possible!)
6. When there are other people around. I'm a people watcher by nature, and I should use that opportunity to really utilize my creativity. I know for a fact I'm not the only one who makes up stories about what is going on in random stranger's lives. And, I keep toying with this idea of writing a book... I'm never going to get anywhere if I don't start paying attention to my surroundings and creating overdramatic, entirely untrue plotlines.
7. Sitting in traffic. Mainly because it's against the law, and I have an aversion to breaking rules.

I can't think of any more times that I tool around on my cell phone instead of appreciating my surroundings because I'm really busy checking Twitter, so I'm leaving you with a Top 7 Thursday list, and it's on Friday. I'm all over the place, can you handle it?