Lent

Day 45 of 100

Since beginning this Blog, I have been thinking a lot about the clutter that is related to our time, routines and schedules. I have decided to focus the 100 Day Challenge on the decluttering of our physical environment. Yet, I have become keenly aware of how "clutter" has infiltrated all areas of our lives. We will look at this in more depth once we have made a dent in the physical clutter.

This brings me to this post and Lent. For the last year for safety reasons, I have only used my speaker on my cell phone while driving. This December, I read some statistics on driving while talking on the phone, even hands free, that showed a dramatic increase in your accident risk. I decided that I wanted to stop talking on my cell phone while driving, altogether. I have been slowly working on this. However, old habits die hard. Even though I was not using it to call out, the phone would ring, and I automatically would reach for it. Then in January, Oprah had a special on this exact subject, where she encouraged everyone to take the "No texting/talking while driving" challenge. (Personally, I could no more text while sitting in a non-moving chair, much less while driving. However, I see it at least a dozen times a day.) So after seeing this show, I decided that Lent was the perfect time to fully embrace this challenge and begin! Hopefully, it will be the beginning of a permanent change for me.

Like many modern conveniences, the cell phone certainly has its advantages. I love that my family can reach me at any time. When I am out working, the school can contact me easily, if one of the children gets sick. I love that when I get lost or confused, which is more often than I would like, I can call and get directions. However, like antibiotics, which have saved millions of lives but have also created super bugs, cell phones have their downside. Since when did we have to be available instantaneously, 100% of the time? What happened to down time/free time? Like much clutter, cell phone time has a way of sneakily moving in and taking over, without our realizing it. Before we know it, we are talking more to other people in the periphery of our lives, than our own family members. Have you noticed that you get in the car and think who can I call?

Yes,this will require scheduling phone time at home and returning calls when I stop. But perhaps, I will be more efficient in these. When you are driving, you "shoot the bull" to fill the time. How much of what you are discussing could be done in a quicker, more time conscious fashion? So, I am putting this out there for all to know, I will not be using my cell phone at all while in a moving car! If you see me on it, call me out, tattle, respond to my post and keep me honest! Help me declutter this area of my life and make the roads safer for everyone at the same time!

Do you want to join me in decluttering your cell phone use?