Thoreau Challenge Day 7

17 February 2011, Thursday

Wow, what a weird 7 days it has been! For me, it wasn't too difficult being without my technology, mainly because I've had a lot of work to do anyway, but there were some points in my days that were a little nerve-racking due to not having my technology.

I think the hardest thing for me was being without my cell phone. It's how I get in touch with my family and friends, check the time, set my alarm clock, check the weather, and more. I basically didn't eat out of my dorm room for the 7 days because I never knew when anyone was going to lunch or dinner (I didn't really mind though. I'm not a fan of the cold). My roommate actually had to wake me up for my classes, otherwise I would've slept in. My social life didn't get any better (most of my friends live off campus, so it's kind of hard getting a hold of them), but I don't think it suffered either. I probably could have made an attempt at getting to know the girls in my hallway during these 7 days, but I didn't since I'm not that social to begin with. Being without my cell phone really messed up my usual routine, and it is definitely great to have it back!

Not being without my TV wasn't too hard since I rarely watch it. Being without my laptop, however, was a bit more difficult because I use it for a variety of things. On nights I stay with my boyfriend, we usually watch Netflix on my computer, and we missed having that bit of down time to just chill. To be honest, it didn't bother me that much because we instead talked to each other--something I think lacks in a lot of relationships. I did miss Facebook...a lot. But these last few days I didn't have too strong of an urgency to hop on and read about everyone's latest heartbreaks, joys, and problems.

Overall, I learned that I really don't (and shouldn't) need to depend on technology to run my daily life. I mean, yeah, being without my cell phone was hard, but I think that if I had to be without it, I would manage. It would make me get out there and socialize with people that live in my hallway. It would make me more reliable getting up in the mornings. Instead of laying in bed checking the weather, I'd get my lazy ass out of bed and walk the 5 feet to look out the window.

Now that I'm off the challenge, I notice that (so far) I'm keeping my "new, good" habits. I don't have a facebook tab open that I switch to every 2 minutes. I put my phone on silent and leave it on my dresser so that I can sit at my desk to do what work needs to be done. I'm definitely a lot more productive and efficient at doing my homework and studying! I want to do well in my classes, so I think that this challenge has helped me see that I need to cut the technology out of my life if I hope to do well.