Small change, big impact.
I see this view nearly everyday when I am home on a short walk I do - without my phone. There is beauty everywhere - even in places you see every. single. day. It’s easier to see with the phone down.
I just returned back to Connecticut on Saturday after some time on the west coast for two state conferences for activity coordinators. Essentially, hundreds of middle and high school administrators gathered for inspiration, idea sharing, and networking to begin the process of building out the next school year in terms of activities for their schools.
So why was I there? I attended these conferences to help some of these administrators get excited about Eyes Up by exhibiting among the vendors and sponsors and had a few smaller speaking roles. This was both nerve wracking and invigorating - I was thrilled to share the message and continue to improve as a speaker. Teachers have fantastic energy and are great people doing incredibly important work. What a treat to get to spend time with them and feed off that energy for a while.
At the second conference in Vancouver, Washington, I presented at a breakout session and incorporated some discussion on distractions and strategies to implement some of the tools I spoke about. During a conversation on Intermittent Phone Fasting (read more on that here), one teacher shared an experience he had recently with a student asking for help on an assignment.
This student came up to the teacher, who we’ll call Joe, in his classroom while Joe was working on another task on the computer. Joe’s phone was on the desk next to the computer, face up. The student approached Joe and jumped right into their question and pushed the assignment in question onto Joe’s desk.
Joe recently began to take more seriously his engagement with technology around others and has been working on reducing his screen time and being more present with the people around him, including his students. With this in mind, Joe took the additional step of closing his laptop and putting his phone in the desk drawer. Without thinking much of this action, Joe began to look at the student’s assignment.
The student looked at Joe and said “You know, my parents never do that when I am talking to them. They’re always on their phone or have their computer out when I talk to them. You’re actually paying attention to me.”
““You know, my parents never do that when I am talking to them. They’re always on their phone or have their computer out when I talk to them. You’re actually paying attention to me.””
Joe had no idea this simple step would make such an impact on a student as he was thinking of bettering himself and not necessarily making a noticeable impact on the student and their connection.
A little effort to give them your undivided attention, whether you are a parent, teacher, or just a friend, goes a long way not only to them but to the quality of your time together. This story resonated with me because it’s so easy to take shortcuts and be less attentive when we’re around family, because they’re always there and it’s okay to be a little less engaged. Or at least we’ve convinced ourselves of this over time.
If this example doesn’t convince you, try doing something fun with a group of friends or family - and try it both with and without phones present. See what the difference is in your interactions and your level of presence with one another. I promise it will be noticeable and hopefully something you want to implement in more and more aspects of your day.
Thank you to Joe for sharing this story and thank you to you all for reading and living #EyesUp. Most importantly, thank you for not driving distracted.
Learn more at EyesUpRide.com/resources.
-Ben Grannis
#EyesUp
