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diff --git a/blog/content/english/cell-phone-experiment.md b/blog/content/english/cell-phone-experiment.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..c8efbf38052d --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/content/english/cell-phone-experiment.md @@ -0,0 +1,92 @@ +--- +title: "Cell Phone Experiment" +date: 2020-03-09T22:02:07Z +draft: true +--- + +### TL;DR + +I will not use my cell phone during March to challenge myself and learn more +about how much I depend on my device. + +### Background + +Ever since I read Charles Duhigg's book, [The Power of Habit](poh), I try to +habituate as many aspects of my life that I can. + +The *exploit* axis of the [explore/exploit tradeoff](exp-exp) endows habits with +their power. If you are interested in learning more about the explore/exploit +tradeoff, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths explain this concept more clearly +than I could in Chapter 2 of their exceptional book, [Algorithms to Live +By](algos). + +One pitfall of overly exploiting an activity, however, is neglecting global +optima in favor of local optima. Thus we must also explore. Is it possible to +habituate exploration? I think so. + +Every month since October 2018, I commit to a monthly challenge. In the past, +monthly challenges have been things like: +- sign up and take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lessons +- buy a guitar and learn [Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUK8emiWabU) +- study Italian +- attempt to learn a handstand + +Typically for an activity to qualify as a challenge, I must spend at least +fifteen minutes working on it at least five days each week. Oftentimes +challenges have concrete deliverables (e.g. playing the "Freight Train" song +from start-to-finish). Other times, with Jiu Jitsu, the challenge consists of +attending classes five days a week without any absences. + +This month I'm challenging myself to avoid using my cell phone for the entire +month. I am interested in partially digitally detoxing. + +My parents gave me a cell phone when when I was a freshman in High School; those +days, I was fourteen years old. I am now twenty-eight years old, which means I +have been using a cell phone semi-daily for over ten years. + +While I enjoy the convenience that my cell phone provides me, I am curious to +suspend my usage aiming to more clearly understand how much I depend on it. + +### What was different? + +Things that I am missing: +- Alarm clock: I decided to avoid buying an alarm clock. I theorize that alarms + and caffeine may distort my reality. An excuse to sleep in? Twist my arm... +- Waking Up with Sam Harris: Thankfully, Waking Up supports web browsers, so + this was easy to replace. +- Banking with Monzo: Monzo has a web client for doing simple banking tasks. I + needed to internationally transfer GBP to my USD account. +- Spotify: I either read while taking public transport, attempted to briefly + meditate, or (most commonly) started blankly. +- Taking notes +- Timers +- Google Calendar for meeting room information + +Things that I did miss: +- Phone calls: My birthday is March 5, and I wanted to talk to my family then + since I'm currently living abroad in London; I'm originally from a suburb + outside of Washington D.C. + +Things that I thought I would miss but I didn't miss: +- Email: I prefer checking my emails minimally anyhow. +- Text messaging: Maybe I enjoyed this because I knew the whole time it was + temporary. I'm unsure if I'd feel this way if it was permanent. + +Exploits +- Telegram native client +- Instagram's web client + +### What was bad? + +Not much. + +### Will I use a cell phone in April? + +Probably. I think this exercise removed some of the long-standing barnacles, but +some of the old habits and triggers exist. Also with web browser and native +client alternatives to mobile apps, the partial digital detox felt even more +partial. + +[pod]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12609433-the-power-of-habit +[exp-exp]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-armed_bandit +[algos]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25666050-algorithms-to-live-by |