One of the things I recently did to de-clutter my life is turn off all of my notifications on my cell phone. I think we are all aware (or maybe not) that we check our phones consistently or we are just on our phones all the time. One of the things that made me look at my phone on the regular are all the alerts. Now that I have them turned off and I know it, I really have to reason to be checking my phone constantly. Plus I know I shouldn’t be getting those “phantom buzzes.” You know, the ones where you feel like you got a message, but you really didn’t. Haha!

Since my notifications are off, when I do decide to check my phone, it is now more intentional. I check my phone much less than I use to and when I do check my phone there is a reason; I was expecting an email. I must say though, my notifications for my text messaging is still on, but I am still scrutinizing this and I am starting to realize that when I do get a text, 99% of the time it is something that can wait. If it is an emergency or very important, the person usually calls and leaves a message. My phone still rings and vibrates when I get calls (I won’t be turning that off…not sure you can even do that unless you turn on airplane mode).

It’s no surprise how much time people spend on their cell phones, but it is a surprise to realize how much time we spend just thinking about our cell phones. You don’t just have to minimize you physical things, but you can also minimize your time spent on less valuable things and maximize your time spent on yourself, your relationships, and your experiences.

Technology is amazing and definitely enriches our lives, but we can also do more with less of it too.