Breaking out of bad cellphone habits

I have been checking my cellphone more than usual these days. I am busy at work. There doesn't seem to be enough time during normal business hours to get everything done. And collaborating with folks in different time zones means that I am receiving more late evening and early morning emails. When I feel my cellphone vibrate with its insistent little "you've got mail" buzz, I have been finding myself compelled by its siren song-I need to check my email as soon as it arrives. My cellphone habits are making me feel like an addict. When the phone buzzes and I don't immediately read my email (because I'm trying to have a polite conversation or pretending to be a butterfly with my 3-year-old), I spend the time between the buzz and checking wondering who it is, if they need anything, and if everything is OK. The email itself has become the hit, until the next buzz comes along. The only way to relieve my anxiety is to check the email. But the relief is illusory. Another email will arrive shortly. It turns out that science has confirmed my experience. A team of British researchers tracked the blood pressure, heart rate, and cortisol levels of study participants over the course of their workdays. As email traffic increased, the workers' blood pressure and heart rates similarly rose. But it turns out that every email wasn't stressful-emails containing timely information didn't seem to impact stress levels (nor did thank you notes). But emails that interrupted tasks in progress or were irrelevant to the recipient tended to stress folks out. So I need to change my habits because they are impacting my health. But (perhaps even more compelling) I need to change my habits because my behavior drives me crazy when other folks do it. There is nothing worse than having a conversation with someone only to have them halt mid-sentence. Are they ill? Are they choking? No, they just need to look at their phone in the event that someone more important than you needs something. Or to be sitting in someone's office having a productive conversation only to watch their eyes dart to their screen each time an email arrives. I do these things. Yet I am also momentarily annoyed when others commit the same sins. And I don't think that I am alone in my frustration. I've watched clients grow visibly frustrated with this behavior from their lawyers. On a recent trip to the courthouse, I witnessed one client glare-visibly outraged-at her lawyer's clear preference for her cellphone over her client's company. The lawyer-nose in her cellphone-was oblivious to her client's anger. This incident has compelled me to re-evaluate my own practices. Our clients are hiring us to be present and think about their problems. I can't instill confidence in my representation or provide an optimal client experience if I am more concerned with my iPhone than with the person in front of me. And it isn't just our clients. Riding in an Uber last week, I heard an advertisement for a mortgage broker who was promised to be more interested in you than her cellphone. Clearly there is a market for service providers who will put down their phone. But how to quell the addiction? I certainly can't quit cold turkey. Clients and colleagues expect that I will be reachable via email. But not at every moment. And so I've started forcing myself to go off the grid for a short time every day. I put my cellphone on airplane mode during meetings. That way, I have my calendar with me (need be) but I also don't even have to wonder how many emails are piling up in my inbox. Several buzzes in a row can increase my anxiety levels when they are frequently nothing more than a filing arriving. I have also been leaving my cellphone behind-if my family takes an evening stroll, I'll ditch the phone for the trip. And nothing forces you to leave your cellphone behind like water-evening swims with my daughter at the pool and weekend canoe trips on Lake Calhoun means the cellphone stays away. My parents expressed horror that I would go anywhere without my phone ("what if something happens?"), but even if I trip, sprain my ankle, and can't get home everyone else walking by has a cellphone and could call for assistance. And no one ever needs to reach me immediately-I am not a doctor. Life and death will never hang in the balance because I didn't have my phone with me. In implementing these small changes, I have realized that being present can also be addicting. I turned off the little pop-up email notifications on my desktop and have found an increased ability to focus at my desk. I have also learned something about myself. My whole life, I have enjoyed getting up early to accomplish work. I've always assumed that I get so much accomplished in the morning because I am just a morning person. But my newfound habits now have me wondering if I simply get so much done in the morning because no one is emailing me. Published: Mon, Jul 11, 2016