My phone is basically my lifeline.  It’s my contact to reach friends and family, it’s my main source of interaction when it comes to social media, and it’s my time killer when I want to play games or read up on the news.  You can literally use your phone for ANYTHING now, and it’s mostly great.

But, I have no doubt that I rely on my phone too much.  The second I misplace it, I almost get a panic feeling.  How will I know what time it is, or what the temperature is? How will I check Facebook on my break at work? How will I know what Emma Roberts is currently reading!? I can feel so lost about things that I should 100% be able to function without.  So that’s exactly what I did.  I went one weekend without my phone or any social media.

SO….HOW’D THAT GO?

I wish I could say I turned my phone off and everything was easy for the weekend, but it definitely wasn’t.  My phone is always in my hand or pocket.  Within the first hour of having no phone I had grabbed for it 13 times! I knew it wasn’t there and yet I still went for it out of instinct.  Every time I started to feel bored I immediately went to, “Better check my Instagram feed.” It actually became stressful, like my hands didn’t know what to do.

So I decided to make it interesting.  I made a list of things that I wanted to do but had somehow managed to convince myself I didn’t have time for in a normal day.  First on that list was a hike.  I know, it seems so simple, but on a normal hike I have my phone to listen to music or track my activity.  I would normally use it to take landscape pictures of the cool views I find too.  But not this time.  While I don’t have a single picture to post on my Snapchat, I was there and it was awesome.  I got to enjoy one of my favorite hiking trails without any distractions and it was ten times better than I ever remembered it.

Later I went to a trivia night at a local bar with no phone to look up answers or check in so my friends would know that I was there. I definitely didn’t do too good (as it turns out I’m NOT the best at 80’s themed trivia) but it was a lot of fun!  One thing I noticed is that EVERYONE in the bar was on their phone.  People were talking here and there in between scrolling but I realized that’s probably what I would have looked like if I had mine and then I immediately felt awful for all the people I have probably ignored for some online quiz I was taking to see which character of The Office I am.

The next day I decided to finish out my list by doing one of my favorite things, bike riding.  I rode my bike for almost two hours to the library, to get ice cream and through a hiking trail.  I thought about grabbing my phone a few times but not nearly as much as the day before.  I almost started to see myself relaxing.  There was less stress about my “lifeline” not being there.  Later on I had game night with some friends playing board games and having some drinks.  I just need to say this, spending time with people you enjoy is ten times more enjoyable when you don’t have to tweet what you’re doing or get interrupted with tags or text messages.  When you can give them your full attention, it’s pretty great.

By the end of the weekend it seemed pretty normal to not have my phone.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t think about it, but the urge was significantly less.  I had successfully gone a full weekend without my phone or social media and I got to do some of my favorite things I normally push aside! I had a few days to really breathe.  There was no internet drama, no worry of work and no pressure to make a social media presence and I actually felt lighter as a whole.

Now I’m not going to lie, when I got back on my phone you better believe I checked Katy Perry’s feed to see if she posted any pictures of her poodle that weekend, but we can’t all be perfect. If this weekend without my phone taught me anything, it’s that it is okay to take a break.  In fact I would recommend it! I got out into nature, got exercise and got quality time with some of my favorite people without the burden of constantly being wired to technology and it felt good.  So I challenge you, vinas, to go a day without your phone.  I promise you’ll want to leave it at home more often. Tell us in the comments how it goes!

(Feature image via Buy Peel)