June 9, 2024 – Tough to Implement

Well, I am sad to report… or not sad… that I will be attempting Week 2 of three of the phone detox process. This week I was suppose to turn off notifications, delete apps, and put my phone in another room (not my bedroom) when I go to sleep. For some reason this week, I had to be on my phone for communication purposes and I was away from my laptop for about 5 days of the week. Two days was spent in Granisle with the Koh Learning group and students from SD91 (Nechako Lakes) and 3 days camping at Salmon Valley Campsite with RecOrg UNBC. Both trips I decided not to bring my laptop. I also deleted a lot of apps too, so there was no opportunities to be productive. Admittedly, it was a good thing. I was mostly off my phone and I was definitely not on my laptop. My screen time still decreased by 9% and down to 2h19min average per day. That’s half of what it used to be.

I can see that I am making progress on getting off my phone and I do find myself not wanting to go on it. I don’t really need to. I think turning off my notifications is AMAZING because I am not motivated or provoked by any red dots. That said, I do get a little behind on my emails and often shocked to see my Gmail with multiple notifications. That said, most of those emails are not really that important. As long as I have the chance to go on my laptop to check or worst case scenario open my phone app at least once a day to ensure I’m not missing anything too important. I feel like my pace of life is slower and I am more present with what I am doing. Going to Granisle and Salmon Valley was exactly what I needed despite the fact that I have to prep for several presentations for an upcoming conference. The conference is providing lots of notifications and updates to change venues.

The conference is in Montréal at McGill University. There is much turmoil at the institution right now and today the conference completely pivoted. Some sessions are relocated, some sessions are going online, while other sessions are cancelled. I am presenting 5 times (seems a little over zealous) at Congress 2024. My first session, I am a panelist for the CATE Working Conference on Teacher Leadership, my second is a presentation with CAARE (action research) and I’m co-presenting with a colleague on Climate Education in Teacher Education, my third session we moved the paper presentation to be online (we mutually agreed to this) and I am presenting with a friend, my fourth session is with OTESSA and I had to move that to another day due to a conflict with my first presentation, and finally I close with a round table with CATE and I am co-presenting with a friend and colleague.

As you can see, lots to do and I feel like it will get done. I just need the time to be. Going to Granisle was “work” but also going camping was “work related” as I was connecting with folks from the university. I have also been working on a couple of grant applications to support my colleagues in a couple of projects I’m involved in. I am very happy to do work that I love and learning how to be patient and open to allow new ideas and possibilities to enter my workspace, but also learn more about myself to create boundaries and have a clear vision when to say “no.” There is nothing wrong with saying no, but also it’s good (at times) to say yes too. I look forward to trying to accomplish Week 2 of this digital detox process. And, I just remembered why I was on my phone so much last week… I had to change hotel arrangements in Montréal to be respectful to my colleagues and do what’s right.

I will keep you updated on this challenge while I am now compressing my time in preparation for my trip to Montréal and preparing for my presentations. It’s a lot of work but I am very happy to be engaged with this work. I am very grateful. 🙂