The Best Ring Tone Profile for Focus

I. NEED. TO. CHECK. THIS.

Time for some self-honesty: Twitter, Facebook, Blackberry Messenger,What’sApp Messenger, text messages, e-mail, G-chat mobile, Skype mobile, and the mobile browser.  I suffer phone addiction. I could pass a two-hour bus ride quickly just using my phone. I couldn’t focus or spend quality time with people for long periods of time without checking my phone, and I ended up e-chatting way more than I needed to.

My friend Olgui made a suggestion. She is a designer and works with her hands, which means being “in the zone” is very important for her, as that’s when her creativity flows. She explained to me her ringtone profile:

• All phone calls ring loudly.
• No other notification makes a noise or even vibrates.

That’s it! The reason I love this is because anyone who needs to get in contact with you immediately can–they can always call. At the end of the day, if it’s a text message, it cannot be of utmost importance–why let it get in the way of your passion?

I’ve extended my attention span 10-30 minutes, I don’t miss out on things, I’m still accessible in case of emergencies, and I’m better at doing whatever I want to do. Also, I don’t get distracted by vibrations and notifications while I’m spending quality time with friends or family (whereas before I would go to the bathroom, or try to position myself in certain ways so I could sneak a peek at my phone…all taking my attention away from the person before me). The improvement in quality time with friends is more than worth it and I invite you to give it a try. It ultimately will help to make you more present in the current moment.

 

 

No Shame in Dissatisfaction

Imagine you are talking with your friend about your job and where you are in life. You relate that you just had a baby, your job is tough and as you speak, your friend interrupts, “well, are you happy?”

Right in this moment, I became aware of a tendency to want to say “yes, of course I’m happy!” I first noticed the inclination in myself and then began to see it in others. People don’t always respond “oh, yes I’m happy!” but you can often see the initial inclination to respond that all is just fine and dandy. What stands out is that we want to say that we are happy before we stop to think if that’s even true. This leads me to believe that we are not just trying to respond to the friend–we are trying to convince ourselves that we are actually happy, as if our response determines whether we are happy or not.