In this issue…
- my quitlist
- 8 reasons I quit having a cell phone altogether
- 13 ways to lay the smackdown to your cell phone
I originally had titled this post “Quit having a cell phone,” but if this was a conference call, I’m fairly certain a large number of you would have hung up on me already, realizing I had finally lost my last marble.
Now I know most of you are saying, “Hello! There is no way I could ever give up my phone.” And for a large number of you, I mostly certainly get that. If you have children, a job where you deal with clients or staff, or you are on the road a lot (I mean driving, not just lying on the road…that’s just dangerous) giving up your phone completely would not be practical.
That said, there are definitely things you could quit doing so you are not a prisoner to your own phone. But more on that in a bit.
My Quitlist…
If you have had a chance to check out my QuitList, you will see that I have been phoneless (hey I just made up a word to add to our lexicon…how cool am I) for almost 9 months now.
That is right, I QUIT having a cell phone. In fact, I also quit having a home phone, but that happened a few months earlier.
It actually started back on February 1st, 2009. I was one month removed from quitting my previous job and had exactly zero dollars flowing in at the time, so I started looking at ways to decrease my expenses.
I gave up some of the obvious things of course when no income is coming in. I stopped eating out. I put the kibosh on clothing purchases. And of course I stopped paying bills. I was amazed how much extra cash I had when I ceased paying my rent, my car insurance and my hydro. (ps…I am writing this in the dark.)
But the phone was the very first expense I cut. At the time, people thought I was crazy. In fact, many still think I am, but in truth, that might have more to do with the fact I insist on wearing my underwear over top of my pants.
Eight (8) reasons I quit having a cell phone altogether…
After doing some simple math (most of it done incorrectly mind you…damn you simple math) I came to the conclusion that I didn’t need to have a phone.
- Cutting my expenses was my primary motivator. My bill was coming in well over $100/month, which to me just seemed like wasted money, whether I could afford it or not. I could put that to better use elsewhere. There were charities I could donate to, bills I could pay off and worthwhile TV products I could invest in like the all important comfort wipe.
- I was using my phone like a jackass. No I was not drinking and dialing, but I was using my phone at all the wrong times. I just could not resist the urge to call someone, when my calls weren’t free. I was playing right into the hands of the telecommunication companies, who prey on the fact that the majority of people like me are not disciplined enough to NOT use our phones during those peak billing hours.
- There were driving issues. I had gotten into some really bad driving habits. With my phone in one hand, something messy like a veggie taco in the other, and my knees jammed firmly on the steering wheel in the 7 and 5 position, warning other drivers or pedestrians of my impending presence was near impossible unless I hammered my horn with my forehead. Not to mention the fact I was practicing hands free driving, which was just idiotic.
- I hated that system access fee. I know, it was only like $8 each month, but that fee drove me crazy. I mean, the purpose of purchasing the plan is to have access to the system. Just wait until other businesses start adopting this dumb policy. “Mr. Dwyer, that new car is officially yours. Congratulations! If you were thinking you would also like to access it, that’s an additional $200/month for something we affectionately call a car access fee. You might know it better as your car keys sucker.”
- I was subject to the impulse notions of others. People use their phones the way they shop. Impulsively! I found that a large percentage of my conversations revolved around the fact people were poorly planned in their own lives. The topics of discussion and items needing to be attended to were simply a result of poor planning by the person calling. And the biggest culprit-ME!
- I was a million times more productive. The phone is a constant interruption which often caused me to stray from those important tasks I should have been doing . Unfortunately, people think nothing of calling without ever considering what you might be doing. How many callers actually ask if they are calling at a bad time? Not many, because they are not thinking about you. Most are only thinking about themselves. Phoning is the equivalent to the unexpected home pop-in except you don’t have to get off your lazy ass to intrude on people’s lives.
- Improved relationships. If I am going to meet people then I want to give them 100% of my attention. That’s the least they deserve I would think. I can’t do that with a phone that is buzzing, gyrating or playing some groovy ring tones from the 70’s. There is nothing worse then going out with people who interrupt conversations the moment their phone rings because they just have to take that call. And to make matters worse they make us listen to their dull one sided conversation. I would rather throw up all over myself then have to listen to that. (I might need to rethink that idea.)
- Serenity now! We wonder why we are so stressed. We get so few moments where we aren’t being bombarded by something whether it be a phone call, a text message, a barking spouse etc. By not having a phone, I get to live more in the moment, whether it be writing this post, reading a great book, sharing the pleasure of someone else’s company or cleaning fresh dog poop off my shoe because some dog owner thought it would be fun to leave it in the middle of the sidewalk.
- Living life much more deliberately. By not having a phone I am required to be better planned. I now plan people into my life including when I will call them. Of course, there are always unexpected things that come up, but my phone calls (I use Skype for this) are now scheduled events that have meaning.
13 Ways to lay the smackdown to your cell phone…
As I mentioned at the beginning, most don’t have the luxury of being 100% phoneless, but there are strategies you can implement to free yourself from the cell phone prison you are currently sentenced to.
- Turn it off. Have periods where you turn it off for hours at a time. To reverse quote Dr. Spoke, “You’re a (put your label here), not a doctor.” Stop thinking you need to be accessible 100% of the time.
- Have alternative ways to be reached. This is really useful for family members and a few other key members of your tribe. Discuss ways that these people can get a hold of you if you are going rogue for a few hours. It could be something as simple as an email code, a pager number, or the firing off of a flare gun.
- Divide and conquer. Keep your cell number and your business number separate. Your cell should only be for your inner circle and a few business associates who you know won’t abuse your number with trivial shit that a well trained monkey could handle.
- Training Day. People are exactly like dogs, minus the licking of their private parts in public. They can be trained. We do it with kids, why would we not do it with adults? Train them as to how and when you should be contacted. If you don’t, then they train you to be at their beck and call whenever they please. Take it a step further by treating them when they do it correctly (positive reinforcement) and hitting them with a rolled up newspaper when they don’t (physical assault).
- Don’t be 7-11. Be the opposite of the corner store and only give out your number only when it benefits your convenience, not others.
- Push your email. Give out your email address only for business contacts. They can always be upgraded to Platinum status later once you know they would not abuse your cell number.
- Ninja voice mail tactics-part 1-Leave them a message. Think of this more like education. You are teaching them how you use your phone. If you only respond to calls between 3 and 5 pm then tell people that. If you want business related matters to go to your business line, then direct them to that line to leave their message. But make it clear to others what you want and stick to the plan.
- Use ninja voice mail tactics-part 2-Take daily vacations. Use a similar message that use when you are on vacation or out of the office for the day. Simply indicate what hours you will be unavailable and who they can contact if it is an absolute emergency.
- Update your email signature. Take your cell phone number off your email signature completely. People are lazy and will call long before they will email.
- Schedule times for call backs. We somehow think we have to answer the phone everytime it rings. That is why you pay the big bucks for voice-mail. Let the call go to voice mail and then schedule a time in your day where you will make your call backs.
- Have a rule book. If you have kids you get this because you have a million rules for them. Set up rules for yourself as well when the phone can and can’t be used. For instance, turn it off when you are trying to complete an important task. Turn it off when you are in the car. Turn it off when you are having face to face meetings. And please turn if off when you are on the crapper.
- Outsource. Not everyone can afford this, but if you are a bigwig hotshot, hire an assistant to screen your calls and give clear instructions to him or her on how each type of call should be handled. Tim Ferriss from The Four Hour Work Week does an excellent job discussing this idea.
- Take your cell number off your business card. Yeah that may mean reprinting your cards, but only include a business number or simply have an email address. I communicate almost exclusively through email and only use phone calls when absolutely necessary.
To ideas worth quitting,
