It’s going to be a tough week for me. I’m going cold-turkey on my best friend – my trusty iPhone 5s.
I’ve had it for almost three years. It seems like a member of the family. It’s always at dinner with us. It goes to bed with us. And I never leave home without it. Until now.
This week my little buddy is staying at the Apple store where it’s getting a total makeover. The techs will completely break it down and inspect every part before they replace anything not up to standards and reassemble my phone. (No Disassemble! No Disassemble!)
Because my phone is so old by Apple standards, they didn’t have a loaner for me. Their couple of iPhone 5’s are already out on loan. So I had them turn an even older iPhone 4s I had into my phone for the week. The only problem is it doesn’t have any of my stuff on it. No apps, no calendar, no contacts, no hot spot, no email. Just a phone. This should be fun.
The biggest thing I’ll miss is my podcasts. I may need to get those on my temp phone somehow. I don’t think I can live without those. I’d have to listen to the radio in the car. UGH.
It will be interesting to see how my routine changes as I instantly transition back 8 years in time to my last “dumb” phone. I’m especially interested to see how I interact differently with my email.
For the week, there will be no email “triage.” I can’t glance at my phone while in line at the store or in between errands in the car – not while driving of course.
By interacting with all my email via laptop, will my use of email change? Will I give more or less time to each email? I’ve always thought desktop users gave more time to email, but now I’m not so sure. If I have a bunch of them piled up because I can’t get to them as frequently, I may give each email less time to draw me in. Not sure.
Will my replies be longer and more insightful because I can type like normal and not with my thumbs?
Will I spend more or less time each day on email and the rabbit holes that follow? Will I spend money that I wouldn’t have?
These are all interesting questions that I plan to be aware of during my sans smartphone week. I’ll report back at the end and give you my thoughts.
Wish me luck!