It is a really simple one.. switch off your phone once a day, perhaps have a dedicated time that is a 'no mobile phone time' - maybe even have a box in which you physically place the phone and close the lid.
Even when the phone is on silent we keep looking at it, checking for social media updates, the likes, the 'thumbs up' or comments on our posts, the disappointment when people don't love our doggie photos as much as we do?! I mean really, how can other people not love my cute dog as much as I do... but guess what, they don't ;-) We also have a perception that everyone else is having such an amazing time, when in reality they're probably not, they're just like you and me.
Recently a met with a dear friend of mine, she leads a very busy life, is a wife with a loving husband, a Mother of 2 teenagers, a Director in a Finance company and a pretty awesome force of nature.
Like many of us she uses her phone all the time, however, as we chatted about supplements and multivitamins to help menapausal women,( oh the joys!) she shared with me that as a family they have a rule to leave all mobile phones in the living room at night, no phones are to go upstairs at bedtime. I just thought this was brilliant and I don't know why, but it surprised me.
Don't get me wrong, phones are so beneficial but they are here to improve our lives not limit them, so when I'm doing my art I switch my phone off. The very action of sliding the phone to ' off' is like a green light to create, and it is something I encourage all my students to do.
Whether I'm running the monthly art club, teaching an adult short course, a BA or MA art class I encourage all phones to be switched to silent. For many, the phone being switched off is part of the experience of ' escaping' the every day, which so important in the hectic world we currently live in.
So, perhaps try switching the phone off for one hour each day and instead do something creative. Try doodling, journalling, baking, or maybe go for a walk, read a physical book or meet with friends.
Find likeminded people and sketch together, or form your own creative group, creativity comes in all forms we just need to embrace it and give ourselves some time out, so start by sliding the phone to 'off'.
