30 Days Deep...Sometimes 31
The Inspiration: Two forms of distraction are generally available at our finger tips in every second of every day: our phones and our minds. In each split second of down time - at a red light, on the elevator, in line for coffee, and in a million other brief moments throughout the day - we often reach for our phone to fill that "unbearably boring" two seconds of silence and stillness. By filling those small moments with unoriginal content and thought, we are stripping our own brains the opportunity to settle down, make an observation, or reflect. In economics, we call this Opportunity Cost - "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen." In this case, the alternative usually chosen is turning to our phones looking to fill time with some sort of content (generally not overwhelmingly beneficial) under the guise of productivity or entertainment. But what we're really doing is losing the more important alternative - our own thoughts.
The Commitment: Go a few places every day and leave your phone at home. Try to notice every time you reach for it and in each of those moments, look around and notice something you wouldn't have noticed if you had been looking at that little brick in your hand. Hopefully, by the end of the month, you'll stop reaching for it.
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