It’s not a smartphone. It’s a pocket computer.

For the last 6 months my iPhone stopped holding a full charge like it used to. It got to the point where I couldn’t make it past lunch without needing to plug my phone in.

After backing up my phone, I dropped off my iPhone at the Apple store for repairs.

Unfortunately, after bringing my repaired phone home, I realized I didn’t properly back it up. While my photos and contacts were (thankfully) floating around the cloud, I lost all my apps and settings.

And it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me.

The Curse of Convenience

Like many people these days, I have a love-hate relationship with my smartphone. I’m by no means an anti-tech. I remember the days where you had to print out directions from Mapquest and prayed they were correct. But I recognize how much of a distraction our phones can be.

Can’t remember where you remember that one actor from? Whip out your smartphone and look it up!

Bored of the book you brought to the coffee shop? Whip out your phone and see what your friends are up to on Instagram.

Nice dinner date with my wife at a new restaurant? I have to document this for the gram.

Earlier this summer, I decided to give myself a month-long break. After working 7 years on my business, often 7 days a week, I felt burnt out. I wanted to take the time to free myself of anything I’d found distracting. The big one is social media.

Having my phone wiped the same week as my break was a sign from the universe.

The Joy of a Dumb Smartphone

Since the great phone blip, I find my phone to be pretty damn boring.

I log my morning weigh-in. Check the weather. Read some local news. Read some emails (through a browser!)

And that’s it.

In fact, according to Apple’s screen time tracker, I went from using my phone an average of 6 hours to a day pre-wipe to 1.5.

I only downloaded apps I deemed “essential.” How did I determine this?

Whenever I found myself out in a situation where I absolutely needed an app, I would download it. For example, I re-downloaded Uber after needing a ride home from a doctor’s appointment.

I can still listen to Spotify during my commute, pull up Google Maps when I’m lost, or take a pic of my wife and me on date night. But I no longer find my phone to be this object that I feel shackled to and guilty of using.

It’s helpful to stop thinking of my phone as a smartphone, but rather a pocket computer.

Can you imagine having a nice dinner with a friend, having them pull out their laptop to check a message, and mindlessly scroll through Twitter and Instagram at the table? All while assuring you that they’re listening?

That would be rude (and odd), wouldn’t it? Yet a lot of us do this without realizing it with our phones.

It’s going to take some effort to continue this, but so far my anxiety around using my phone has almost disappeared.