Yesterday, my phone glitched. It’s amazing how a thing like that can change your day.
And it amazes me how much we now do on our phones.
We buy and sell, pay bills, read the news, play games, connect with friends, do research, find directions, look up words, find new recipes, watch videos, listen to music, make phone and video calls, network, book travel, read blogs, text, learn how to do new things, and watch the ocean cam at Del Mar.
And those are just the things that I do.
Many of you do a lot more using your phone. All from a little box that fits in your pocket. Again, it’s amazing to me!
What does this have to do with organizing?
One of the things I do is help people gain focus in a noisy world and the phone is a window to noise.
And sometimes that noise is difficult to shut down.
If you want to be organized enough to do the things you want to do in life, you may have to look at your phone use.
The phone can be a black hole that sucks you in and won’t let you go.
For those of you who feel overwhelmed with the stuff in your home or office and never seem to find the time to organize it. Can you turn off the phone and start processing your piles?
Ahhh, that’s the problem.
The phone does not want to be turned off.
It wants to be turned on first thing in the morning and making some kind of noise and distraction throughout the day. It wants to be noticed and listened to and read and . . .
Once a week (the day may vary depending on my schedule), I shut down, turn off, and hide my phone.
And then I sit and listen to the quiet.
Oh wait, I wanted to see . . . no, keep it off.
I challenge you to join me. Turn it off. Listen.
Then look around and touch the things that are here before you.
Organize something in your physical space.
Make something.
Connect with the people in your home, not across the world.
Sing. Dance.
Read a book with physical pages.
Go for a walk.
Your phone will be there when you get back.