We’re not that busy, we’re just distracted

We're not as busy as we think we are!

Recently, I’ve had the exciting opportunity to test Mudita Pure for an entire week. Although leading a technologically mindful lifestyle is nothing new to me, I was extremely curious to experience Mudita Pure for an extended period of time.

I’ve been testing Pure on and off for about nine months. Mostly, while out and about, in order to check reception and signal strength in different areas. This would be the first time I would use Mudita Pure as my primary, after-work phone. Since I do interact with our Mudita Community, not only on our forum, but also on social media, it would be quite difficult to do that with just Mudita Pure as my main daily driver. Therefore, I was still using a smartphone for work. 

In many of the articles on our blog, we refer to numerous studies, research, or surveys which underline the staggering amount of time that the average individual spends staring at screens each day.

According to a 2018 study by market-research group Nielsen, adults spend more than 11 hours per day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with digital media. ^[1]Although much of this time is probably spent doing either work or school activities, there is definitely an increase in the amount of time spent on mindless scrolling through social media. As of 2019 and 2020, the average daily social media usage of internet users worldwide amounted to 145 minutes per day, up from 142 minutes in the previous year. This equals to, on average, approximately 2-3 hours. In the span of a day, it might not be a lot. Twenty minutes here, a half hour there. However, this time quickly adds up. Before you know it, in a span of a week, you’ve spent upwards of 20 hours staring at a screen. TWENTY HOURS. That’s the equivalent of a part-time job. A part-time job that you’re not getting paid for. ^[2]

I was never a heavy social media user. Scrolling mindlessly, living vicariously through the lives of others, never had much appeal to me. I used social media mostly to keep in touch with family and friends. It was also a way to see what they were up to. However, my Android well-being assistant informed me that, outside of work hours,  I was spending around 60-90 per day on various social media apps. That would equate to approximately anywhere from 7-10 hours per week. Quite lower than the typical  20 hours, but still unreasonably high for me. 

My goal, while using Mudita Pure, was to basically reclaim my time. I wanted to spend more of my time experiencing life, not starting on the phone. Most specifically, I wanted to spend more time with my dog, Misiek, catch-up on some reading and finish some projects I had started, but didn’t have time to finish. 

The first day was a bit difficult, but as time went by and I was not using my smartphone, I began not to miss it. Over time, I forgot all about mobile social media. I still logged in for 5-10 mins a day, to “see what was happening,” but scrolling through feeds on a laptop does not have the same appeal. You just get in, send a few messages to friends, wish your high school English teacher a happy birthday, and...POW!.... you’re done! 

Somehow, social media, on a computer, involves more work than I was willing to put in. Social media on a mobile device, on the other hand, is so effortless, it’s scary.  There were times, when I started my weekend morning with my coffee in one hand, smartphone in the other and before I knew it, 2 hours had gone by.  Mindless scrolling just syphons our time and eats away at our day. 

As the days went by, I didn’t even notice the absence of my smartphone after hours. What I did notice was how much more FREE TIME I HAD. 

I finished that book I started a few weeks ago. I completed my unfinished projects, but most importantly, I had more time to spend with Misiek. 

After a full week, I’ve come to the realization that we’re not as busy as we think we are. The less you use your smartphone, the less you need it. 

We’re really not that busy at all, we’re just distracted. 

If you’d like to take a look at my video, where I talk about my experience, please click on the video below. 

https://youtu.be/YjhedgvREtc

If you enjoyed this article, please check out similar ones featured on our blog and learn more about how to increase your concentration and be more productive.

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• Simple Ways to Develop Effective Time-Management Skills

• Screen Time & Productivity

• 8 Tips for Mindful Work 

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