I have a love-hate relationship with my phone. I recently discovered 23 reasons why I should put it down...
I watched an executive take 3 "urgent" calls during our meeting the other day.
None of them were urgent.
Here's what we tell ourselves:
"I need to stay connected." "What if something important happens?" "People expect me to respond quickly."
Here's the truth: Most things can wait. Your deep work can't.
Every time you check that phone, you're not just losing the 30 seconds it takes to look.
You're losing 23 minutes and 15 seconds.
That's how long research says it takes to fully refocus.
Three "quick checks" = over an hour of lost deep work.
Three simple rules changed everything for me:
No phones in meetings. Ever.
Do Not Disturb during focused work. No exceptions.
Phone goes in the drawer. Not face down. In. The. Drawer.
The first week, I felt phantom vibrations.
Reached for a phone that wasn't there.
Convinced I was missing something critical.
I wasn't.
What I'd been missing was the ability to think.
That obligation to stay "connected"?
It's costing you 23 minutes at a time.
The world won't end if you take 2 hours to respond.
But your best ideas might die if you don't protect them.
Drawer. Now.
Jeff