ding – From the desk of Adam Thomas

That buzz is annoying isn’t it?

Every zing, ding, badge, buzz, and pop sound instantly grabs my attention.

In a few minutes, I go from working diligently to finding an excuse to get to my phone. Soon I start “the cycle” and next thing I know, 20 minutes have gone by.

This only happens when I don’t intend to use my phone.

Thinking back on it, I’ve never gotten a text that needed a direct answer immediately. That goes double for email. Phone calls have more importance, but we all have free answering machines (who calls people anymore anyway :-]).

Notifications are a bane on our existence. Nothing effects day-to-day concentration like them.

The effects are widespread, pulling us out of flow and depth and leaving us very superficial and disjointed. That superficiality and disjointed nature leave a lot of work on the table. Instead of the interesting stuff that we have the power to craft now, we spend more time creating tweets, texts, and Facebook comments that don’t push our skills or help us grow.

Serious, right?

I turned off my notifications for almost all my apps on my iPhone, and most badges (still have one for text, I should get rid of it). The hope is, I stop looking at that buzz so much and focus on whatever I do.

I hope you join me, there is so much work to do.

No Cell, No Ding, and It Sucks

When I was in college, I once lost my cell phone. I didn’t have a job, so I couldn’t replace it. I was on campus, almost alone, so I couldn’t scrounge up the money. I was effectively cut off.

I scrounged in my room and eventually found an old phone that had no battery and the charger. So I now had a phone – just it would be tethered to my room. It was a flip phone, so no apps and texting was a bear (I got used to the keyboard on my Treo – I wasn’t going back).

It was painful, since I was on campus and alone. But, something interesting happened.

I lost a bunch of weight, wrote like a madman (Launched my first major column), got my first tech startup brand moving (TGS!!!!) and found myself free of my need to respond to many other beeps. I didn’t recognize it, but I ended up having one of the most productive summers in my life, all kicked off by losing my cell phone.

So, I am giving it another shot and…

This stings.

The first day without a cell phone is harsh. I want to answer a text – send a tweet, get into a Facebook argument, almost anything to get out of the current moment and be distracted.

It’s amazing how strong the hold is, even when the reason is staring me in the face, I still need to check something or do something.

The first day is necessary, but I remember that great summer, so I have to start somewhere. Why not here, jonesing, for the first hit of that text.