By Erin Lee – Managing Director, Drom UK Ltd
Having always been someone who switches my phone off when I go to bed, I saw this cosy little mobile phone pouch as an opportunity to encourage myself to put my phone away when I get home from work until my children go to bed. As a working mum, too many times have I found myself still answering emails, taking calls, reading the news or surfing social media while the children are trying to get my attention and then end up watching tv. This time is special, they are young, they need me and I don’t want to miss it anymore!
I’ve decided to ‘hang up my phone’ and reconnect with my children during this short time and make the most of it. Those emails can wait a couple of hours until they are tucked up in bed. I’m still trying to convince myself of this, but then realised that if I had a 2 hour drive or was on a plane I wouldn’t be able to answer them either! I can’t even remember what a 9-5 job is, which I imagine most of you can relate to as well.
The first couple of days that I tried this I found it pretty tough, actually probably the first week was tough and I still get a little anxious that there might be an urgent email I could be responding to. So I now give myself 10 minutes when I get home to check if there is anything urgent and then ‘hang up the phone’. We don’t put enough emphasis on quality family time and are always running around responding to emails to show that we are dedicated to our work responsibilities. We are stressing ourselves out and inadvertently damaging relationships.
Ok, so there are ‘digital detox’ holidays that you can go on, but as a family a small amount of quality time every day is way more valuable than a weekend/week away a couple of times a year. We are supposed to be setting examples. I don’t want my children to disappear into a digital world and not know how to have fun, engage, play outdoors or even just tell me about their day. My family now calls it ‘hang up your phone’ and everyone knows the rules. There is always going to be the odd exception, but I think we can deal with that!
Why don’t you join me in reconnecting with your loved ones and ‘hang up the phone’? If you have children who have their own phones, get them to do it too!
Here’s to making a positive change.
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