I had a weekend that I so desperately needed. You know that changing life season/craving for calm feeling I shared on Friday? I hate to proclaim anything too bold being that I’m only a whopping three days in, but I seem to have found the clarity and peace I’ve been searching for with the small act of simply leaving my phone in another room.
Being with the girls, while sometimes still a handful, is so much more engaging now. They’re little people that are watching (and copying) everything I do. Something about having my phone in my hand has completely been rubbing me the wrong way lately. So, this weekend, I finally made a change. I kept my phone in a separate room and blew the dust off our old DSLR instead.
David has been trying to teach me to use his camera (a Canon 40D) for years. For some reason the terms like ISO and aperture just have trouble computing in my head.
I always heard the best way to learn is to switch it to manual and start snapping. So I finally did.
With David’s tips and without my phone to distract me, I kept the “fancy cam” with me all weekend.
It’s probably too soon to say it with certainty, but I believe I’m hooked.
I felt such a complete calm by just ticking things off our household to-do list, taking breaks to play, and relaxing in between, without checking my email or mindlessly scrolling through social.
I don’t mean to oversell it, but without my phone within reach, life truly seemed to slow down.
As an added bonus, a renewed wave of creativity surged the second I wasn’t trying to be so darn efficient with my multitasking.
Overall I’m just feeling more refreshed than I have in a while. Maybe it’s because I finally kicked that pesky flu (man, that thing sucked) or that I’m releasing myself from the need to respond immediately to every buzz or chime, but as Michael Buble would say…
I’m feeling good.
Saturday late afternoon we all gathered in the kitchen
to cook dinner together, something the girls really get a kick out of.
their aprons are no longer available // similar
Though much of their input is touching the shrimp (then washing their hands), touching the raw sausage (then washing their hands), etc, they love being a part of the process. And Hailey is at the point where she is able to start helping for real.
We danced around the kitchen to some Tennessee Whiskey type jams (we have a Tupelo Honey Pandora station that rocks) and a while later, we all sat down to a big pan of paella.
We used this recipe, but omitted the chicken and added extra shrimp and mussels. It was delicious and we all devoured it. I’d say it feeds a legit and hungry 4-6 people.
I know it sounds simple and many of you probably aren’t even as hooked on your phones as I was, but I’m invigorated by this new-to-me change. I look forward to having more intention and less distraction in my days, and maybe learning how to take better pictures to boot.
I’m grateful to be living a life I truly love and don’t want to take these moments for granted.
Have you made a change that has invigorated you lately?
What or where makes you feel most connected to yourself and happy?
For me, it’s being out in nature and with family. Bonus if a glass of wine is involved.
montessoriishmom says
What a wonderful way to be present with your family – and your pictures look amazing! I love the one of the girls in their aprons, so sweet 🙂
I really try not to look at my phone when I’m with my little guy, but I do find that if I’m really tired, I start to sneak peeks at it. You’re so right, there’s no reason I need to have it with me all of the time. I’ve been trying to learn to use the DSLR too, so haven’t been using it for photos anyway. I’m excited to try this, thanks!
John J. says
Could feel the renewed energy in this blog. Helped get me going this morn. Plus, that camera turned out some great family pics! Stay detached from the phone!!
Heather says
Such a good reminder. I feel like I do the same thing, and I think you hit the nail on the head when you used the term “mindless”. Half the time, I am like “Why the heck am I even looking at this crap?” It certainly does nothing to make me feel relaxed or refreshed. Thanks for providing some inspiration to start living better and easier!
Dana says
Love this! Thanks for the inspiration and reminder:)
julie @ peanut butter fingers says
YES to this!!! I honestly do not like having my phone on/near me all the time (as you may be able to tell by the serious delay in my text responses!) and will often leave it at home when Ryan has his on him so I’m not even tempted to look at it on the weekends. It’s kind of crazy to me how something as simple as leaving my phone behind feels like a giant exhale. One of my girlfriends started regularly wearing a watch so she wasn’t tempted to use her phone to check the time and now just checks it first thing in the morning, right after her toddler goes down for a nap and then again after she puts her toddler to bed at night. (I’m sure she makes quite a few exceptions but that’s her general plan.) I love this idea, especially if you have a real camera on hand to snap pics of the kiddos without the use of your phone!
Brittany Dixon says
YES! I left my phone at home when we went to Lowe’s on Saturday and I almost felt giddy that no one could reach me. It’s bizarre because I love being in touch with people so much but to just have some time away felt like such FREEDOM! I love the idea for a watch- it makes so much sense since I use my phone for the time more often than not. Now I just need to get better with my real camera than my iphone camera- what will I do without all those filters and burst shots?! 😉
Cristina-the batchmaker says
I might not comment a lot, but Im always reading and I always feel so refreshed after! I appreciate your honesty and transparency always! Im struggling with the phone thing too- not only is my little (19 m) starting to notice or want to show us something and we are all on our phones! HORRIBLE! But also, with the political climate and just the way things are right now, reading about everyone’s everything and opinion is just too overwhelming. I’ve deleted FB from my phone which has helped so much but just this past week approached my husband about us putting our phones away before, during and after dinner right up until Josefina goes to bed.
PS- LOVE all the camera pics! and LOVE your front door bunny 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my goodness, yes, I feel the same way about oversharing of strong opinions. It just all feels so heavy and counterproductive since so many of those posts aren’t really up for discussion purposes.
PS- 19 months is always when I remember things just getting SO much fun. I love every stage of course, but when communication starts to pick up, it’s just so darn cool. Enjoy those sweet moments! <3
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
You should watch the documentary The Minimalist on Netflix. We watched it last week and it’s got both of us on this new kick to spend less time on our phones and more time doing what we actually care about. One easy way to stay off the phone easier was to turn off instagram notifications. That way we’re not checking every time the phone lights up. 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Someone else mentioned that documentary to me too- I’ll definitely check it out! And I’m still smiling over here- so happy for you!!
Heather says
That last picture of Kaitlyn made me tear up when I saw it on instagram!
I hate using my phone around my girl. When she sees it all she wants to do is watch videos of herself and it creates a tantrum when I stop letting her. I try and save mindless social media time for my unwind after bedtime and I find I get through it much faster since I actually end up caring less. I need to invest in some clocks around the house because 99% of the time that is why I glance at my phone!
Heather says
p.s. they need to invent an away text so people don’t think you are dead when you don’t respond within 5 seconds 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh yes! Haha! I feel the same way about texts and emails as recently I’ve had no choice but slow down my response time. I hate delaying my replies, but it’s the only way to make my daily schedule reflect my priorities. Until I find more hours in the day at least 😉
Katie @ Live Half Full says
I love this! I do this on vacation, but it’s a great idea to do during every day life. I may follow suit!
Jessica says
Taking instagram off my phone completely was one of the best things I ever did for my mental health. I also really narrowed down who I followed. I check it on the computer only and it has made a world of difference.
Kathryn says
I did the same – HUGE difference.
Brittany Dixon says
I love instagram too much to delete it completely but have debated deleting facebook! I love your idea of narrowing down who you follow. I always feel rude unfollowing people but the truth is that I probably follow too many people too and would benefit from narrowing it down. Thanks for the idea!
Lindsay says
Great, great idea! I am going to aim to do the same thing! It really bothers me when other people are looking at their phone all the time, and it bothers me even more when I catch myself doing it. The last thing I want my kiddos to remember is my phone case instead of our conversations!
Nadia North says
This was just the push I needed – I just deleted the Facebook app off my phone. It was actually a very satisfying feeling! I love the idea of leaving my phone in one spot in the house and not be distracted by it. I AM IN! Thank you!
Sam says
Totally agree with being outside + wine! Major kudos to you for disconnecting from the phone! I do the same thing sometimes and it honestly feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I work outside the home so it’s tough to find a balance between always being available and doing the things that are most important. Ironically, I’m the one who accidentally sent you a snap of my daughter the other day….but I promise I don’t put much on there! 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Haha, I loved the accidental snap!! 😉
I struggle with the balance too- I like being efficient and felt that my phone was helping me do that but when I started noticing I felt overwhelmed about nothing in particular and had shorter fuse with my family, I knew I had to make a change. I can feel myself (today for example) instinctively reach for my phone during a second of downtime and then realize it’s in another room. It makes me notice how often I was mindlessly reaching for it. It’s crazy how ingrained into our lives phones are!
Jen says
I did this a while ago when my girls were just over a year and I really loved every second of it. I say everyday that I am going to go back to it but keep putting it off, after being reminded how good this feels, I’m recommitting today 🙂
Laura says
Honestly, I wish I had never gotten a smartphone (or maybe wish they had never been invented?!). I put it off for pretty long, but about 2 years ago I caved when my old flip phone finally died. It used to be that I had to have a real purpose to look something up on the laptop, but now it just becomes too automatic. Thank you for this reminder. My goal is to just check social media once per day. Looking things up is certainly easier on a phone when there a baby nursing, but if I really only look up things that are purposeful, I think I could rely on my laptop only. I know it is not too late to change; luckily my 3 year has still not shown any interest in my phone and we don’t use tablets. To be honest, I don’t even like my phone much! I had reading on the small screen, and all the things I really care about (photo and video editing, making photo books/ videos) needs to be done on the laptop. We are getting ready for a big Utah road trip and I am actually considering buying a handheld camcorder instead of using my phone’s video. Additionally, we will have the DSLR but I like to reserve that just for photos. I agree, all the photography jargon is a bit confusing. I am going to buy the “Nikon 5300 for Dummies” to read on our road trip!
Brittany Dixon says
I feel similarly. I love all the amazing things my phone allows me to do on the go, but it’s just not worth it sucking so much out of my life. It makes me sound super old, but I think a sweet spot was when a cell phone was just a cell phone. I loved it for safety and connecting, but now that it’s gone from texting and then to social media… it’s just too much to keep up with!
Maria says
Ah, beautiful photos! I am so sad that my phone has taken the place of my once-loved DSLR. We have all the lenses and gadgets to produce lovely photos, but I opt for my phone and a VSCO filter…sad. Once I’m totally offline with my job and on mat leave, I feel like I’ll be able to set the phone aside and there has to be a way to set it up for only calls + husband texts to alert me (we don’t have a house phone) when I do NEED it. I also want to invest in a small camera (like the Canon Powershot G7X) to take videos. What kid doesn’t love looking back at videos of themselves?
Wait. What was the question again? 😉
Christen says
Such great things to think about here. I need to disconnect from my phone more. I really do like getting out my fancy camera often to get pictures of my girls too. I love having the higher quality photos to look back on 🙂