This week Danita and I spent a few days on Rottnest Island.
To insure we made the most of the time to relax and rest we decided to go sans computers.
We also agreed to switch off our phones for the duration of the trip.
While it sounds like a simple thing to do it can be quite traumatising. There’s even a syndrome associated with the fear of being disconnected – it’s called nomophobia.
The main thing we found was that we can switch off, admittedly after checking last minute emails and making sure we’d responded to all the ‘important’ messages and requests.
So, happily I can say with some sense of certainty that I’m free of nomophobia.
We did have to cheat slightly – because there were a couple of tours we intended to go on and we wanted to go to the movies one evening we did need our phones as watches. Neither of us wear those things and generally there are plenty of ways to find out the time (including checking your phone).
I did say “cheat slightly” because we switched to flight mode to make sure we didn’t ‘accidentally’ check emails while we were looking up the time of day.
I must say, it’s quite an experience and one I highly recommend.
It gave us a sense of lightness and the ability to be present to the present and not worrying about ‘what if I’ve missed an important email, phone call, text message, facebook post…?’
Our normal routine in the morning is wake up, check the time, weather and a quick review of emails and then think about getting out of bed.
Since all we needed to do was make sure we were up in time for breakfast (that’s something you can’t miss out on) a quick check of the time was all we did and were off to a leisurely start to the day.
If you do find you have a severe case of nomophobia there are treatments which include “cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy combined with pharmacological interventions” (why am I not surprised there are drugs for this?).
Rottnest Island (who turns an island called Rat’s Nest – the English translation – into a tourist destination?) is a small island of the coast of Perth.
One of its main claims to fame is the population of Quokkas – a marsupial about the size of a domestic cat.
Quokkas are very cute and there’s a strong urge to cuddle and feed them, especially when they stand with their front legs resting on your thigh while sitting at a coffee shop.
They’re supposed to be nocturnal but they are so accustomed to contact with people they are very active during the day – even coming in to our room. When we went to the movies we helped the operator clear out one from the theatre after the show.
I had a pretty normal experience with quokkas. When you arrive on the island and you see them around it’s very exciting. However, after seeing dozens of them (not in one spot but they are EVERYWHERE) one does get a little tired of them and because they’re a protected species they’re now in plague proportions and are killing off the native vegetation.
On our return to ‘civilisation’ and being reconnected, I’ve found it very hard getting back into a normal work mode. Bumping straight into Passover/Easter has been excellent and I’ve enjoyed not being in front of a screen.
I wonder if there’s a condition associated with enjoying being disconnected – maybe it’s called bliss.
Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying a bit of time out on this public holiday.
(Thanks to thelatesthiss.org for the nomophobia image)