Mobile Phones Can Ruin Relationships. My Learnings On How To Use It Mindfully.

Valentine’s Day is an opportune time to talk about relationships. Isn’t it?

So, while everyone is writing mushy romantic stories about their love, letters to their loved ones, sending love forwards, messages on social media I choose to write about what can make you lose the charm of a relationship.

Can you guess?

Mobile Phones!

I plead Guilty too!

Sometimes I do use blogging as an excuse for being glued to my phone and social media. However, I have been supremely attached to my phone even before I started to blog so I am at fault.

I have been an ardent reader, however, I was so glued on to ‘Candy Crush’ game on my phone that I didn’t read a book for over a period of three months. I would keep playing the game on dinners with hubby, during intervals in movies. It became an addiction. My family would get extremely annoyed with me seeing me addicted to the game.

Last year when my hubby gifted me an i-phone, I was thrilled. He was surprised at seeing my excitement. I had not expressed so much joy when he had gifted me diamond jewellery on previous occasions. Such has been my fetish for phones. So yes, that is me. I confess that my craze for the phone as sometimes affected my relationships not only with my spouse but also with other family members.

But phones are very useful too and we can certainly can’t do without them completely. Also, I believe we should embrace new technological advancements, learn about them and use them to make our daily lives easier. Plus being a blogger, I have to be an active social media user in order to make my work accessible to others.

So here I am going to share my learnings and how I started using my phone mindfully.

Minimum use of the phone while with my daughter:

My daughter is at school for around 7 hours and returns only at 3:00 p.m. I mostly share my posts on social media and engage with other bloggers during the morning hours in her absence. So, when she returns I can give her the required attention.

Keep the phone away while on social gatherings:

Apart from the time when I want to share live updates on Instagram or stories to share with other friends, I consciously try not to keep posting pictures on social media during social gatherings.

Push off notifications:

This is a work in progress but I will do it eventually. And I am sure my hubby is going to be super happy the day I push off notifications on social media while I am spending alone time with him.

Sign out of email after work:

I refrain from answering emails after 6:00 p.m. This is one thing I am getting my hubby to do too because when I am on social media, he is checking his work emails. So, this is one habit we are consciously trying to shun in order to spend quality time with each other. Work will always be demanding, it’s for us to decide our priorities.

Ditch the phone 30 minutes before bedtime:

Pick up a book, listen to soothing music but ditch the phone during bedtime.

Invest in a table clock:

Do not set alarm on your phones. Remember we had table clocks, invest in one, set up alarm on it. Keep the phone away from you while you sleep.

Spending too much time on the phone can sabotage a relationship, create conflicts and affect your brain negatively. Invest time in relationships and get the spark back this Valentine’s Day.

Today while on dinner with your Valentine, refrain from using the phone.

Promise?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

(Click on the pic above to Pin the image and share the tips with others)

“This blog is a link up with Zainab From Slim Expectations for #WhatILove “