Rob, this piece is so essential and foundational to our lives today. I’ve been the guy in the orthodontist office alongside you - trying the same experiment. It is sooo hard, but does get incrementally easier with some time. As an aspiring writer, this sentence made me smile: “For a moment, I feel a twinge of superiority over these people, who are basically me, thirty seconds ago.” You had successfully taken me into your story, and that sentence took me deeper. 👏.
I love your writing and your stories, and marvel at how compressed they are.
Oh, this made my day, thank you, James. I always love your thoughtful comments. Glad you're trying the same experiment. I'm trying to remind myself, again and again, that it gets easier. This piece was certainly part of that. Let's keep at it. 💪
This was lovely, Rob. So many parts of this spoke to my soul. And love the humour sprinkled in. I’ve been trying to get better at just doing nothing too. Not picking up my phone to scroll and use every moment of idle time. I’ve found myself worrying too much when someone is late — even though I grew up filling the time as my mom was late to everything. We’ve been conditioned to constantly stay plugged in and stimulated, so dependent and hooked on these devices. This is a piece I will keep coming back to as I work my way through dropping bad attention and phone habits.
Thanks for sharing this, Rob. So well written and such a salient message.
Thank you, Jack—I so appreciate the thoughtful comment, as always. I can so relate to worrying when others are late. I'm curious to hear how it goes for you, with phone habits. I'm right there with you, figuring it out bit by bit. I have noticed that my tendency to try big, sudden habit shifts hasn't worked quite as well as starting small and building from there. I seem to keep re-learning that one!
Thanks, Rob! Great piece and so true - the pull of our phone is so hard to resist and we lose so much in the process. But I have got to say, I am horrified the kid called 911. What a waste of resources. Please tell me that was a one time situation and it hasn't become a thing with kids now days!
Yeah, it's the only time I've heard of. Luckily the dispatchers are very good at parsing out most of the non-emergencies, so they didn't send anyone. His dad rolled up just a few minutes later, and the kid caught a LOT of flak from his teammates over it, so I don't think it'll happen again!
I thoroughly enjoyed how this piece turned out Rob! Your story about your son makes me laugh everytime. The turducken example was on point. What a great way to describe how we use our time. You are reminding me too that I really need to put recommit to putting my phone down.
I’m so sad I’m late to the Rob Tourtelot party and so happy to be here! This piece resonated so much, Rob. I’ll be thinking of it a lot as I move forward, with that constant need for a dopamine hit.
Shoutout to Rick Lewis for sharing that banger quote about superiority LOL. So good, so relatable.
Yes, this is so true. I try to do this at home, as well. We have a little basket on the washing machine that we sometimes put our phones in. Not often enough!
Rob, this piece is so essential and foundational to our lives today. I’ve been the guy in the orthodontist office alongside you - trying the same experiment. It is sooo hard, but does get incrementally easier with some time. As an aspiring writer, this sentence made me smile: “For a moment, I feel a twinge of superiority over these people, who are basically me, thirty seconds ago.” You had successfully taken me into your story, and that sentence took me deeper. 👏.
I love your writing and your stories, and marvel at how compressed they are.
Oh, this made my day, thank you, James. I always love your thoughtful comments. Glad you're trying the same experiment. I'm trying to remind myself, again and again, that it gets easier. This piece was certainly part of that. Let's keep at it. 💪
This was lovely, Rob. So many parts of this spoke to my soul. And love the humour sprinkled in. I’ve been trying to get better at just doing nothing too. Not picking up my phone to scroll and use every moment of idle time. I’ve found myself worrying too much when someone is late — even though I grew up filling the time as my mom was late to everything. We’ve been conditioned to constantly stay plugged in and stimulated, so dependent and hooked on these devices. This is a piece I will keep coming back to as I work my way through dropping bad attention and phone habits.
Thanks for sharing this, Rob. So well written and such a salient message.
Thank you, Jack—I so appreciate the thoughtful comment, as always. I can so relate to worrying when others are late. I'm curious to hear how it goes for you, with phone habits. I'm right there with you, figuring it out bit by bit. I have noticed that my tendency to try big, sudden habit shifts hasn't worked quite as well as starting small and building from there. I seem to keep re-learning that one!
Such a salient observation, Rob. Start small and scale. Big changes usually fail. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks, Rob! Great piece and so true - the pull of our phone is so hard to resist and we lose so much in the process. But I have got to say, I am horrified the kid called 911. What a waste of resources. Please tell me that was a one time situation and it hasn't become a thing with kids now days!
Yeah, it's the only time I've heard of. Luckily the dispatchers are very good at parsing out most of the non-emergencies, so they didn't send anyone. His dad rolled up just a few minutes later, and the kid caught a LOT of flak from his teammates over it, so I don't think it'll happen again!
Good to hear! Thanks, Rob!
I thoroughly enjoyed how this piece turned out Rob! Your story about your son makes me laugh everytime. The turducken example was on point. What a great way to describe how we use our time. You are reminding me too that I really need to put recommit to putting my phone down.
Thanks, Michelle! It's a hard thing to commit to. Writing about it definitely helped me strengthen my resolve.
I’m so sad I’m late to the Rob Tourtelot party and so happy to be here! This piece resonated so much, Rob. I’ll be thinking of it a lot as I move forward, with that constant need for a dopamine hit.
Shoutout to Rick Lewis for sharing that banger quote about superiority LOL. So good, so relatable.
Ah, this makes me happy to hear, Charlie. So glad to have you here, and that the piece resonated.
There could never be enough shoutouts to Rick Lewis, really, for everything.
Haha 100%!
whenever I can I leave my phone at home... somehow the impulse to check it disappears along with its physical presence!
Yes, this is so true. I try to do this at home, as well. We have a little basket on the washing machine that we sometimes put our phones in. Not often enough!