Without the phone

One of my favorite experiences from the last week is sitting in a coffee shop flipping through a magazine.

It had probably been years since I’d done something like that.

Phones make it all to easy to obtain cheap entertainment — stuff that is engaging enough for us to want to continue paying attention to, but doesn’t leave us feeling particularly fulfilled.

Phones make perfect sense for a variety of practical reasons, but I’m beginning to wonder if they’re really the right answer to our boredom.

How many wonderful experiences out there are we depriving ourselves of in favor of our screens? My sense is many.

And if we could live in a counterfactual where we had all these experiences, would we be eager to trade them for more screen time? My sense is no.

Try loosening your grip on the phone. Reach for something else first.

It may feel wildly unusual at first… and then you might be pleasantly surprised by your choice.