I haven’t been very active on social media lately, if at all. Sure, the occasional update on LinkedIn of how things are going on the business end and I am writing and posting it. But Instagram….silent….FB…only have it to have a business account for work…TikTok….nope. I’m not trying to say that they don’t bring their value, because they do. They are singlehandedly the most powerful way to connect with an audience that you never would have had a chance to speak to. Social media has fundamentally changed the way our world functions. But at the same time, it has its downsides. For me, it wasn’t necessarily the scrolling, it was the feeling that I always needed to be sharing my progress towards a goal. Because if it isn’t on Instagram, did it really even happen?

All kidding aside, I deleted the social media apps off of my phone last year and I haven’t missed them at all. And the biggest things that I have received through the process — presence and time. I still take just as many pictures, they just don’t get posted. I carry my camera with me and get to capture the moment as it is happening, not thinking what I am going to do with it later for a post. I have found myself remembering moments in a much deeper way as well. I now keep an Instagram grid in my mind, a scrollable carousel of memories that I can tap into anytime that I want. Sometimes, I find that I will be just staring out the window, lost in a meaningful moment that I experienced the day before, rather than seeing if I was sent a funny post. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy funny posts that get sent (when I used to check it), but I can’t recall them off the top of my head two weeks later. Then there is the time that I have gained.

Time is the most important asset that we can have. It’s our existence. And that precious time we have, with every click of the second hand, there is an opportunity to do something meaningful, to not waste it. When my grandfather was younger, he had to spend four years in a hospital with tuberculosis. He met the love of his life, my grandma, while she volunteered at the hospital, so I guess that was one positive. But the other positive that came from that experience, he didn’t waste a single moment for the rest of his life. And I remind myself of that quite often because there is always the chance that life can change at any moment. And that doesn’t mean to live in a state of fear, but a state of gratitude for the opportunity to live a full life. So why waste it watching other people live theirs?

Without social media on a device usually a few feet from me, it became easier to leave my phone in the other room or actually forget where I had left it altogether. But as the months progressed, I noticed I had picked up another habit on my phone, work. With more time to devote to the things I am passionate about, work was one of the things that moved to the front of the line. What was crazy is that I would be at the gym and between sets of lifting, I would open my email, just to make sure I was staying on top things. It was such a subconscious decision that I didn’t notice it until I began to think about an email while I was in the middle of lifting or swimming. This basically defeats the whole entire point of working out. Working out is meant to not just relieve stress, but provide a space to focus on the body and the mind without distraction. I had been failing miserably at that and it was disappointing for me. What made it even worse, my thumb would go to the email app upon opening the phone when I wasn’t even paying attention. It had become a habit. Check email, check the calendar, and check the business chat. It was a problem much like social media.

One night, I decided to reset it all. I was thinking about how there was this cool time when I was younger when a phone just made phone calls and really slow text messages because you had to hit 7 four times to get an “s.” I didn’t want to go back that far because I still enjoy technology and appreciate the role that it plays to speed up things in our lives. But as a device, it was much more simplified, allowing for less of a need to use it except when necessary. And that framework became the way I looked to solve the problem of my phone. I began to go through every single app and delete everything that was unnecessary to have at all times. Email, first one gone. Second, calendar. Chat, goodbye! Then, I tackled all of the other apps that usually live on our phones. You know the ones. They are the apps that you download because you think they will be useful, you use them once or twice a month, and then end up just not using them. It was crazy to see how many apps I actually deleted.

After everything I could clear out was deleted, I was left with the essential apps and the ones that come with an iPhone. I have 40 apps as of writing this. 19 of them are Apple apps (after clearing out as much as they let you), 8 are health and fitness apps, 4 for travel, 4 for finance and security, 3 for productivity, and 2 for media. It still seems like a lot, but when you scroll through the apps you have, it adds up really quickly. But the last step that I did, which was probably the most important, I removed everything from the home screen except for text, internet, and Spotify. In order to get to the other apps, I have to scroll to the right and either search out the app or find it in the list. There is no shortcut besides to message somebody, research something, or listen to something. Simple. Admittedly, I have had to download a meeting app while in transit to join a meeting. And that is where I enjoy the power of the devices we do carry. When it was needed, I used the app. But right after the meeting, it was gone.

My phone is now, as it was intended to be when it was invented, a tool that I can use when I need it. But I don’t rely on it. I keep my schedule in a written book and prepare for my day ahead by remembering the key meetings that I have since there is no calendar on my phone. When I am at the gym, I am focused. When I am on a walk, I don’t try to check my email because I can’t. But, most importantly, it gave me back more time and presence. I don’t necessarily recommend this approach for everybody, as it was a little frustrating at times and I had a fear for a little while that I would miss a meeting because I didn’t have my calendar on me. But I do recommend that everybody take some inventory of how many apps you have and to analyze if they are essential or not. Additionally, I challenge you to try to at least hide all of your apps from your home screen. You will find that your interaction with your phone will probably change. If you do try the dumb phone method, let me know how it goes.