Sometimes I feel like my phone has become more than a tool. It has become an obsession. I play with it constantly! Checking email, Facebook and twitter, playing games (including online with friends) or just surfing the web! Occasional my significant other will say ‘can I see your face and not the top of your head, please’.
What are you missing in life because of a smartphone?
Here are 19 Tips on keeping your phone in check (I borrowed them from Time Management Ninja)
14 of TMN’s 19 Phone Rules
- Call Me if Something is Important – When something is important, by all means call me. That is what phones are for. When you absolutely need to reach me now, ring my phone. Don’t send me an email when something is on fire, or when something is timely.
- Don’t Answer That Phone – We are Pavlovian dogs when our phones ring. We answer them no matter what we are doing. We run to answer them. (Ever hurt yourself trying to get to a ringing phone?) We drop anything we are doing to answer them. I have heard people answer their phones in the bathroom. You don’t need to answer your phone, they will leave a message or call back. Trust me.
- If You Don’t Leave a Message, You Didn’t Call – If you call and need something, then by all means leave a message. Otherwise, I don’t know what you needed and will assume that you changed your mind about calling me.
- Vibrate is Not Silent – Ever been in a meeting where everyone’s phone keeps vibrating every 10 seconds and dancing across the conference table? Yes, we can hear that, and it is very annoying. Silent means silent.
- You Can Turn It Off – Most people don’t believe this, but all phones still have an off switch. (Or you can simply put it in Airplane mode). We have been conditioned to be so concerned about “missing” something that we forget this.
- Texting While Driving is Stupid – Don’t do it. Enough said.
- You Don’t Need to Google Life – We all know this situation. Someone mentions something in conversation and someone pulls out there phone to immediately look the topic up on Google or Wikipedia. You don’t really need to Google everything that happens. You are just interrupting the thing we call “life.”
- Talking on Your Phone While Driving – OK, this is simple. If you want to drive and talk on the phone, get a headset. When you get dangerously cut off, why is it always by somebody who has their phone mashed up against their face and one hand on the steering wheel?
- Take it Outside – You are not the President, and thus you do not need to answer your phone in a restaurant. Be polite enough to go outside with your call. People with manners do this. This applies to any other group setting where other people do not need to hear your call.
- Don’t Knock Twice – Ever have someone ring your phone twice in less than a minute? Or call your desk and then your mobile? Don’t knock twice. If I don’t answer, it is for a reason. Leave me a message and I will get back to you.
- Don’t Call if an Email Will Do – Use the communication method that is most appropriate to the priority of your message. (See Rule #1) If you are asking a simple question that can wait, then email or some other medium might be a better way to reach out. Ask yourself, do you really need to interrupt the person right now?
- Change Your Voicemail – “You have reached 555-1234″ is not a voicemail msg. If you are not creative, try, “You have reached <insert name>, leave me a message, and I will get back to you.”
- Check Your Voicemail – If I bother to leave you a message, that means I had something to tell you. Not checking your voicemail is as bad as not reading your email. An executive recently told me that he didn’t check voicemail. Then, why do you have it?
- I Don’t Have to Return Your Call – This one upsets some people. But, just because you chose to interrupt my day does not mean that I am required to call you back. I may respond to you via email or text message if that is more appropriate. Or I may not call, if there is not a reason to do so.
Try implementing these rules (even if you can’t bring yourself to do them ALL at once or all the time) and see how your life changes. Perhaps you’ll find time to pursue other activities, maybe even reach a goal!
Coach T-
Years ago, after I was presumptuous enough to “chastise” a friend for not answering the phone when I called her — the nerve (LOL) — she calmly replied, “The phone is for my convenience; not the caller’s.” I adopted that eye-opening, empowering philosophy immediately.
It’s not always easy to ignore a ringing phone. But, as noted in the second bullet, just because the phone rings does not mean we HAVE to answer it — unless, of course we’re working the 911 switchboard 🙂
Excellent post. The list is spot on! A smart phone does not excuse rudeness — period.
Thank you, Dawn!
It’s hard to reprogram yourself to not feel compelled to answer a ringing phone. I believe it comes from a time when telephones were uncommon and getting a call meant something important was happening. In our society a telephone is as close as the nearest pocket 🙂 and our need to share every tidbit of our lives has overwhelmed our society.
There is nothing wrong with choosing when you are accessible and when the time belongs to you!
Coach T