ARE YOU REFRESHING YOUR SOUL OR SCREEN?

I will admit that even as I draft this, the title keeps convicting me because like many, I often fall for the seduction that is usually skillfully crafted by my phone . I might as well refer to my phone as a robber; a robber of my time, my dreams, my joy and more ; all these deep seated  in the sole fact that it is an attention taker.

REFRESH YOUR SCREEN SOUL

What’s in your bag? is one of my YouTube  favorites ; it gets to expose someone’s essentials in their day to day and truthfully, it inspires me to be intentional with my packing . I am able to get rid of unnecessary stuff (I can have a lot of those) , because I often find myself throwing in things just to fill my bag. I think one that should be put under scrutiny is What’s in your hand? ; assessed in terms of actual description as well as the proximity. Rarely are our phones distant from us except when we are showering, and yet even in restrooms, it has found it’s way there (I will spare you the details).

Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti tech,  neither am I here to ask you to throw away your phone. Rather, I am here to invite us to take a peek into some of the unnoticeable patterns that send us down the path of destruction

 

 

The first time I intentionally decided to track my phone usage was in 2018 and my phone addiction was so bad. I would get home from work and sit to scroll (my twisted version of unwinding) It started off with  checking something and soon enough , two hours would go by while I remained sat in the same position. Upon realizing how unhealthy it was, I had to be honest with myself. I made the choice to delete my Instagram account. (Yes I did ; Sometimes extreme measures need to be taken.) I also uninstalled my Whatsapp just for a period of time. During that year, I got to see how I was hooked because I suffered from withdrawal symptoms ; I would reach out for my phone …just because. My unlock count was probably way over 100 (or more) because I was accustomed to mindless scrolling, which is the trap many of us are caught in. Something that seems subtle and yet dominates our lives and it makes its way shrewdly, we barely notice.

Fast forward to May 2019 where I self discharged from the Diagnostic and Treatment Center of Digital Addiction that I had checked myself into and decided I was “over” the addiction and well in on my way to recovery. I should add that this was a fair assessment because during those times of separation, my Heart and Spirit received all the nourishment I had robbed it. A lot had changed in my life, I had been realigned and my phone was primarily centered on its key purpose; communicating and learning. I restored the apps thinking it would be a sail through but it wasn’t. Something I did (for accountability) was install an app to track my app usage and the results were fairly reasonable ; depending where your level of fair lies in the spectrum but I assure you it qualifies for the healthy kind of fair

It is 2021 and I am still learning the discipline of moderating my screen time. I am still learning that a simple 20 minutes seems like 10 seconds when you are scrolling ,  time flies fast because of the attention the phone commands and how we willingly give ourselves to it. How beneficial would this be if it was reverted elsewhere with life giving benefits?

JUST A TOOL

Understanding what your phone is for, is primary in curbing the “over usage” (I will not call it addiction) though the traces of addiction are evident in the small acts ; like how we  reach out for our phones before we get out of bed to how we glorify multi tasking when we are partially scrolling and partially “attentive” in conversations. I detail my experience to show that it can be something that gradually grows as well as show you it is possible to moderate phone usage. One thing that has helped is looking at my phone in terms of a tool and looking at social media as learning/business platforms and not a means of entertainment because entertainment has a way of getting someone hooked and inviting enslavement.

John Comer’s statement in his book, Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, says something that has truly convicted me every time I go to aimlessly scroll and I hope it can have the same effect over you.

What if you touched the mind of God more than you touched your phone?

Brutal right? It made me feel like I had dishonored God so greatly and that the confession of my love was not evident in actions like these that seem minute. I went on and added (just to let the weight of these words sink in) “What if I reached out for my Bible more than I reached out for my phone?” In the waiting rooms, in those queues and even during moments of moving (cars, trains etc. ) ? What if?  

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul…Psalms 19:7

Be unashamed to pull out a book, your journal or even your Bible instead of your phone. Guard your soul more than you guard looks from people. It is high time we normalize having our Bibles out in the open and not just in the secret place.

“Spend time scrolling and you will starve.” Pastor Steven Furtick

MODERATION

What has worked for me

Set App limits

Upon identifying your purpose , decide how long you want to be on Instagram/Facebook or whichever app and set a time limit for it. If you are in business, this may vary but it doesn’t mean you stay watching out for those Message Requests. You can still run an active business without holding the door. The inclusion of other ways of contact such as phone numbers, emails or calls help a great deal.

Choose to live by  the limits you set. It establishes an amazing lifestyle of discipline. One time a friend  texted me with the invitation to go see  “breaking news” on Instagram  but my timer had run out and when I told her, she was amazingly surprised that I wouldn’t break it to go see the “news”

Remove notifications.

It is not a secret that sound alerts from our phones are invitations; They scream “Go check that post and see how many likes you have, Go see what just got posted by your favorite celebrity.”

Your  phone should have no authority to command your attention through the chiming alerts. Removing notifications takes back the power and you only go to access it when you choose to.

Have Time Blocks

Select certain hours where you are off your phone and use those hours to stay productive. The constant scrolling not only affects our spiritual life but it equally reflects in our areas of work or school. In those times, put your phone aside.

You can get some help from readily available apps that will grant penalties if you forfeit (mine requires me to pay a fine of 2 dollars and 5 dollars) which I have never paid because I have classified it not worth it.

Title your folders in a “triggering way”

In a folder that has Facebook and Instagram (avenues for mindless scrolling, for me) I have titled it WHY ARE YOU HERE and I have to give a valid reason ; even if it is just mentally. It keeps me in check and helps me question the scrolling.

Sleep away from your phone ;  Parent your phone

A few months ago, I started putting my phone outside my room. I always live by the confession Word Before World and yet there are days when I am tempted to check and see that reply that didn’t come early enough the previous night. Sleeping away from your phone reduces the temptation to sleep with it in hand while you scroll.

Parent your phone is a phrase I learnt from John Comer, who puts his phone to sleep in the same way he does  his children. This allows him to wind down and spend time with his wife or lost in a book rather than focused on a blue screen.

Anything else you can think of that will ensure we refresh our souls more than our screens?

Refreshing our souls is a daily choice . I pray that each moment you commit to using your God given time to nourish your soul instead of tormenting it with the unbeneficial exposure present in our feeds.

You are light and you are so loved. Stay anchored and keep His light shining through.