The 24 hour no gadget challenge
turned out great from me as I discovered a lot of things in the home that I
barely noticed and I manage to see some things into a new perspective. I did
not find the activity to be draining or exhausting as such, but rather the
anxiety building upon the day was the frustrating part. Overall, it was a great
experience and helped me in a lot of things.
First of all, out of sheer
coincidence, I was asked out on a date by a former colleague on that exact day
and as compliance I agree. It was pretty weird for me since I’m used to dating with
my phone at hand and whenever I’m lost for words, I resort to my phone. I know
it’s rude but I’m not really confident with myself. However, this was not the
case for this one. I had no phone and I have to maintain a conversation which I
surprisingly did. I get to know my colleague better and the date went well. It’s
one of the perks I had during the no gadget day, I was forced out of my comfort
zone therefore I have to move and the results went better than expected. 10/10
would go to date with no phone again.
I’ve mentioned earlier about the
anxiety building up is the worse feeling than the actual day itself. It is true
that I have become technology dependent as most of my notes, reminders and
reviewers are in my laptop and phone. I was so anxious that I finished most of
my paper works that is due even for the next week. Surprisingly, I was
productive even before the actual day come. My notes were written down on
yellow pads as I prepared myself to read them and most of the tasks and subject
to reviews were posted at my bedside. I also have a 7am class the coming Tuesday
so I set my alarm 2 days before since I cannot touch my phone the day before. I
wouldn’t say that I only did those things out of panic but also out of the wakeup
call that I should have more responsibility. Yes, most of my schedules and
notes are organized digitally however; they end up being a mess after, since I
get too distracted.
I had more time to study since
the distractions were all eliminated. In my regular study sessions, I have the
urge to check my phone every minute but since this was a challenge (my sisters
were in this too) I was forced to avoid them. The funny thing I found out is
that I never realized how much time simple browsing can take. Usually in studying
one subject, it takes me two hours before reading every passage once, but when
I had no gadgets I had mastery of the topic in two hours and I could answer
every sample question my sister gave me. The study sessions that usually takes
me almost 5 hours a day before I can even fathom, was comprehensible in a shorter
span of time. I guess the saying “I’m not stupid I’m just distracted” is true.
Funny how a simple scroll on social media takes up so much time before we even
knew it. I’m not saying their bad; it’s just maybe it’s all a matter of
discipline the pursuit of goals.
In the end of the activity, I
realized that gadgets are not the one to blame since they merely caters to the
needs of the people. They serve in some aspects but unfortunately abused. When
I had the idea of the gadgets taken away from me even for a day I was planning
ahead and it all paid out in the end. I realized how distractions were
affecting us greatly with us being okay with it. I would like to do the
challenge once more but with a larger timespan and uncontrolled environment.
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