Don't Lose Your Phone
Last week I lost my phone. From 5:30pm to 10:00am the next morning. I’ve never lost my phone before and I do not plan on doing it again.
Fortunately I was able to use my other technology and contact the 6:00pm coaching call I missed and asked them to ring my phone so I can see where it might be. I also contacted two other people and asked them to do the same thing. They were terrific and kept calling my phone.
Do you know that once your phone is called several times, it no longer rings. It just hikes itself right to voicemail. No help at all here technology when trying to find my phone through ringing.
We all have our habits of what we do with our things. Like car keys. I have a basket right inside my door to put my keys in. This habit was started because I had never been consistent about where I put my keys once inside the house. Could be my purse; my desk; the kitchen sink corner; my bedside table and in the pocket of my coat.
Without a habit of putting my keys confidently somewhere, I never knew where they were. I am sure it would have made a wonderful video of me looking for my keys each time I needed them.
So I did myself a favor and created a terrific key habit which I trusted and followed.
Well, you know what people, I thought I had an equally good habit with my phone and how I stored it; used it; carried it and knew where it was all the time.
I carry what I call a gramma/owners purse. I need to be able to have a purse deep enough for my folders and business items for travel and I need a purse with enough room for tissues/snacks/pens/small tablet paper to play the game hangman at any time/shawl for freezing places/wallet with coins since parents do not carry change anymore.
The pockets in my purse are deep. I also carry wipes, lotion, lipstick, a fan (TN here people), a multiple tool, 3-10 pens, two glass cases, real live check books (3), and enough other stuff to make my purse heavy. As I said, the pockets are deep so anything that goes in them, stay there.
My phone rides in the outside side pocket with my keys, checkbooks and easily accessible business cards.
If I want my phone, if not out on my desk or connected in my car, I need to dig for it. I know exactly where it is.
Well, at least I thought I did.
From that Thursday evening to that Friday morning with no phone, I could not do the following:
- Use the flashlight option to search my car to see where it might be hiding
- Not calculate a percentage for a report
- Text, could not text, no texting, nada texting
- No calls (am thinking a landline might be a good idea)
- No alarm to get me up the next morning to be on time for reading at the elementary school, my grands classrooms – I took in the old fashion wind up clock that I used to wake up and showed them how loud the alarm was – thank you mom for gifting me that alarm clock 20 years ago and for it still being in my top drawer
- No music
- No facetime
- No GPS
- No calendar
I could go on, but you get the idea.
When our “lifeline” is normally 8-12 inches away from our hand the majority of the day, we kind of get used to having it there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“So, Natalie, how did you find your phone?”
I am so glad you asked.
I was raised Catholic and we have this wonderful tool called St. Anthony. St. Anthony is tasked with finding what we lost. I learned this as a tiny girl and have asked St. Anthony to help me find things my whole life. I also believe in the power of thinking and attracting what is most important to us. Metaphysical and all that.
But the phone was not going to be found.
I looked in the trash. I looked in places in my yard that it could not be. I called the softball field where I was watching my 7 year old grand girl stop a ball at shortstop and make an out at 2nd base. I retraced my steps to where I had been and places I had not been. I searched pockets, coats (it was 90 degrees) aprons which I wear when I service my chickens and bunnies. I dumped my purse out 4 different times. (that is a good way to get your purse cleaned out).
And St. Anthony (cosmic energy or memory) kept taking me back to my car. It was now daylight and I took my front seats apart. Moved them in all directions.
And there it was. Wedged between the passenger seat and the console.
To be honest when I found it I just sat still for a few minutes. Grateful to find it, but also impressed with how reliant we all are on our phones.
I have a deep respect for how it all turned out, but not pleased with my phone need or near addiction.
So I have been thinking about that a lot. St. Anthony gets lots of kudos. Habitualness also gets kudos. The people and technology who developed and continue to develop our phones, thank you.
Currently, I have put together a schedule that keeps me off my phone for many hours a week and keeps me away from the scrolling and reels. It is working for me. I like it.
Please don’t lose your phone. And use your amazingly technological gadget to your benefit.
To your success,
