Monday, July 15, 2013

four | practicing simplicity

my bedside table essentials - styled by stef

Living a less-distratced life: recognising that my phone is one big "beeping" distraction.

Take a moment to visualise a bunch of parents and kids at the park. Now visualise a bus full of commuters making their way into the city, coffee drinkers at your local cafe, people waiting in line at the supermarket. There's a lot of phones in that picture, isn't there. 

The smart phone has introduced so much convenience into our lives and, rather ironically, a significant amount of distraction, too. Many of us jump to look at the screen as soon as we hear a beep or a bling, we make notes, take photos, play games and get a real time look into everyone else's lives (filtered in every sense of the word). 

I'm guilty of it - quite guilty in fact. My phone is just a small version of my laptop; whenever I have it with me I'm basically carrying my work load around. If I take it into the bedroom at night and have it on my bedside table I'm spending the night next to a little device that omits some rather nasty energy. It also means I wake to distraction and work every morning - my phone is not the first thing I want to see when I open my eyes. 

This week I purchased a little clock that now sits on my bedside table. It has numbers and hands and an alarm. It doesn't omit harmful energy, it doesn't light up, it doesn't remind me about work, it doesn't send me messages and it can't take photos. It's plain and quiet and simple - it fits in nicely with my collection of bedside essentials. 

So: spend some time away from your phone, find a replacement clock for your bedside table, turn of some of your notifications and embrace the opportunity to be in the present moment - without distraction. 


Read the series : practicing simplicity 

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