We featured, a few weeks ago, the stories of people who found ways – even temporary ones – to cut ties to their smartphone and its relentless pinging. Not only did it make some readers look up from their screens with hope, it got others to share their experiences too. Mothers reacted differently from doctors; content creators needed different hacks from artists. Here’s how they conquered their challenge.
Ruhie Pande, an HR and marketing leader in Mumbai, admits that her first attempt failed. She’s a mother. Her children live away from home. So, the urge to pick up the phone and check on the kids was hard to dismiss. She lived in “the fear of missing a call when they might need me. It’s harder to disconnect when work revolves around the online world. His fixes started small: Silencing notifications, setting separate ringtones for work contacts and close family. Missed calls are a price he’d had to pay, and the people close to him have learned to accept it. She logged out of her social media accounts. “Each attempt at first felt good. Then work pulled her back. She’s found a compromise: Using her phone’s built-in Sleep Mode and Zen Mode, which still let her use the phone for work, but filter out other distractions. He’s learnt to triage: Emergency calls go through the hospital team, routine questions wait for consultation hours, and families get an alternative emergency number. Paricher Tavaria, a Mumbai-based creative director and fashion communication educator, found it hard to switch off after losing her parents, with her brother living in another country. Her tools were simple.
“After more than 20 years in the industry, I’ve come to realise that it’s okay not to be available to colleagues all the time. Supriya Dixit, a PR professional works remotely, which means she’s dependent on her phone to stay connected to her team and her industry.
Rohit Saluja (@OfficialRohitSaluja), a Delhi-based digital content creator, says the algorithm “constantly demands your presence,” and it bled into everything. “Dinners turned into comment-reply sessions, and trips stopped being vacations because they became all about capturing content and responding to DMs,” he says. “Just willpower and a conscious decision.”
