Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to try leaving your phone behind. We
Speaker 1: often take our phones with us out of habit and
Speaker 1: there are definitely times when they are useful, but it
Speaker 1: can be an interesting experience to not have that option
Speaker 1: and to see what time feels like when there is
Speaker 1: no screen to dive into for a little while. A
Speaker 1: few weeks ago, I went tubing on the Delaware River
Speaker 1: with extended family. It was a fun activity for a
Speaker 1: wide range of older kids. We brought our water shoes
Speaker 1: and sunscreen, but also realized as we were parking and
Speaker 1: going to get our tubes that nobody had brought any
Speaker 1: waterproof bags, so we left all our phones in the car.
Speaker 1: That turned out to be smart, because in the tube
Speaker 1: rental place itself, they actually had a sign strongly suggesting
Speaker 1: that people not take their phones. I imagine they've gotten
Speaker 1: a lot of complaints over the years from people who
Speaker 1: dropped their phones in the Delaware River and wondered if
Speaker 1: anything could be done. Answer no, so a sign reminded
Speaker 1: people that Instagram and TikTok would still be there. When
Speaker 1: they got back, and just don't invite the trouble of
Speaker 1: keeping track of a price and not waterproof item that
Speaker 1: would never be found on the murky bottom of a
Speaker 1: swift moving river. Of course, tubing with family members is
Speaker 1: exactly the sort of thing you might want to take
Speaker 1: a picture of. The hills and rocks we cut through
Speaker 1: were certainly picturesque, as was the summer sky and all
Speaker 1: the cute cousins laughing together, So it was something of
Speaker 1: a shame not to be able to capture it. But
Speaker 1: it was also kind of fun not to think about
Speaker 1: the phone or anything related to it for a few hours.
Speaker 1: And yes, I realized that this was perhaps a little
Speaker 1: risky on some level, given that my toddler was with
Speaker 1: a babysitter for the day. Toddlers are probably a worse
Speaker 1: idea on a river than a phone. But we've known
Speaker 1: this center for years, and she knew we were on
Speaker 1: the river and likely unreachable, and she was resourceful enough
Speaker 1: to figure out whatever she needed before we were back
Speaker 1: in civilization. So we spent a few hours without the
Speaker 1: phones and all went fine. I have memories in my head,
Speaker 1: if not on my camera app and that's really the
Speaker 1: most important place for them to be. In any case,
Speaker 1: if you've been feeling a little too plugged in of late,
Speaker 1: you might try creating similar conditions for yourself. Think about
Speaker 1: an activity that might benefit from either full focus or
Speaker 1: full relaxation. Maybe it's something like a water activity where
Speaker 1: it would be inconvenient to have the phone. Tell anyone
Speaker 1: who would need to reach you where you are and
Speaker 1: that you won't be available for a few hours. Then
Speaker 1: take a deep breath and leave the phone somewhere else
Speaker 1: in your car. If we're looking at baby steps, I
Speaker 1: can tell you you will probably spend more time just
Speaker 1: looking at things and maybe even talking with the people
Speaker 1: around you. Or maybe you'll just be bored, but that's okay.
Speaker 1: Sometimes boredom leads to some interesting thoughts, or at least
Speaker 1: not losing a phone. At the end of our tubing,
Speaker 1: we found a couple who were searching around in the
Speaker 1: water near the shore. Apparently they had brought a phone,
Speaker 1: and whoops, down it went in the rapids. All we
Speaker 1: lost was a pair of goggles, which was a much
Speaker 1: better deal. In the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody.
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.