5 Task-specific Tools to Always Carry With You

voice recorder in the hand of a journalist, close up

Smartphones almost fulfill any task – large or small – that we’d like to accomplish. In fact, many of us say this device keeps our life functioning altogether.

While our phones can increase efficiency and give us useful tools in one single utility, these devices, as a result, have become a dominant force in our lives. The Digital 2021: Global Overview Report found that the typical global internet user now spends 3 hours and 39 minutes each day using the internet on their mobile phone.

Embracing Tangible Counterparts

One measure you can take to stay more detached from your phone is to use tactile items to fulfill simple functions. After all, this is how the world went about day-to-day life prior to technology.

The whole premise of decreasing your technology usage with simple objects may seem like a super elementary topic. However, it is amazing how much we can prosper by rethinking how we use electronic devices as a whole.

The Benefits

Before exploring which analog items can help you stay off your phone, let’s take a look at what you have to gain by making this transition. Using simple objects in place of your phone can help you:

  • Decrease your daily average screen time
  • Decrease the probability of becoming distracted
  • Remain part of the real world
  • Stay more on task
  • Limit your information intake

Limited Space Requirements

Some individuals heavily rely on their phone to carry out all the functions they need to keep their backpack or purse lightweight. While it may seem like adding some more items to your bag would appear noticeable, almost all of the task-specific tools that can help you stay off your phone can fit in your hand.

Challenge yourself to adapt digital minimalism approaches in place of your phone. You may find that the weight of carrying more task-specific tools is, ultimately, less than the impediment your phone creates with your time and efforts. With this fundamental understanding, find your favorite bag, and let’s get packing.

1. Notepad and Pen

Instead of using your phone to capture your ideas, opt for a notepad and pen instead. Making this switch creates a much less interrupted process for capturing ideas as opposed to typing them into your phone. Scribbling your thoughts on paper also offers an easy way to make these ideas visual, rather than solely using words.

2. Voice Recorder

This is another tactile item you can use to capture ideas without a phone. Some individuals prefer to take auditory notes instead of written notes. If you think about it, voice recorders can be used during almost any activity without interference. This makes it an especially useful utility for walking outdoors or through the grocery store.

3. Pocket-sized Calendar

Instead of using your phone to maintain your personal plans, make the active choice to use a pocket-sized calendar. It is just as simple to write your plans down as it is to type them into your phone. At the very least, this will create one less functional dependence on your phone.

4. Flashlight

Perhaps you dropped your keys in a crevasse of your car at night and turned on your phone flashlight to locate them. As an alternative to using the flashlight on your phone, keep a tangible flashlight on hand. While it will, more than likely, have greater brighter than the flashlight on your phone, actual flashlights can also help ensure you’re just looking for the keys.

5. Watch

While a quartz watch, technically, remains outside of your backpack or purse, this is another essential item you can start using in place of your phone. How many times have you intended to only check the time on your phone and ended up spending hours on the internet or social media instead? This is another subtle adjustment that can free up your resources big time.

Optional: MP3 Player

If you listen to music on walks or in the car, there are also practical alternatives for carrying your tunes in a phone-free way. In place of streaming music on your phone, opt for an MP3 player instead. There are, in fact, MP3 players that are Bluetooth compatible; check out our Digital Minimalism Product Guide for options.

Practice Digital Minimalism

Switching to more analog alternatives involves an adjustment when you’re first getting started. As you begin or consider simplifying your processes, set an objective you’d like to achieve by finding ways to use your phone less.

Regardless of what you’d like to achieve in your lifetime, cutting back on how much you depend on your electronic devices to perform specific tasks, ultimately, amplifies the progress you make in the long run. Continue finding ways to stay off your phone, and you will find that you are able to move that much further ahead.