I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about how people use their phone these days and I’m looking forward to writing about some of the things in the future. I wish I could simply say I’m bothered by the way teenagers tether themselves to their mobile device, but I’m just as concerned about adults and the relational behaviors that have become both common and accepted. It’s simply amazing (and by “amazing” I mean obnoxious)!

I typically carve away a little “planning time” every Sunday to think thru my week, responsibilities and appointments for the upcoming week. And, this week, I’m going to try to implement Donald Miller’s advice of limiting phone use. Because I’ve been living with my mom in the hospital and basically putting my life on hold the last 10 days, I’m way behind of what needs to get done. I desperately need to figure out some similar actions to what Donald suggested. His entire post is here, but here’s an

[edited] summary of his main actions:

1. I wake up early… respond to e-mails and text messages… check the news…. Then, even before people can respond, I shut the phone off. This marks the beginning of my phone-free hours.

2. I… sit at the desk, and enjoy a few hours knowing it isn’t possible to be interrupted… There’s no question I’ll get more done in the next two hours than I will for the rest of the day.

3. When my brain is done writing… I turn my phone back on.

4. I respond to everything immediately. People have been waiting, so I get it all done at once. This work is normally completed in about ten minutes…. An entire morning of interruptions that would have derailed my work is taken care of in minutes.

5. I leave my phone on for the rest of the day, handling calls and text messages as they come in. The rest of the day I deal with side work, stuff like getting a package out, a letter written, a meeting with a lawyer or something like this.

So, what do you to try to be more productive and less distracted by your phone? I’m curious…I want to learn from you.