Personal Behavioral Change, Essay Example

The technology of today has become synonymous with a great desire and time spent in daily life. With that being said, many are so dependent on their telephones, computers and mobile devices that they cannot go more than a few minutes without engaging in some type of activity on them. I am no exception to the rule and feel that I spend too much time engaging in the technology time trap myself. It appears that I am dependent on my phone for email, entertainment as well as communication with family and friends. This is also not the only activity, as oftentimes I find myself playing games or searching the internet during several times of the day. For this exercise, I would like to reduce the amount of time spent on my smart phone. While it seems that the time spent is not excessive, I feel that it would be in my best interest to reduce the amount of time spent texting, emailing and checking the internet.

Establishing A Baseline

In order to change the behavior it is first important to make a commitment to change. This was completed after I decided to reduce the amount of time spent on my phone daily by about one hour per day. The next step was to determine exactly how much time is being spent on the activity itself. In order to do so, I kept a log of the amount of time that I spent on the phone for a one week period. I documented each time I checked my phone or was spending on the telephone on a daily basis. It was somewhat shocking to see how much time was being documented. After all it is easy to check a quick message on the phone and not really count that as being on the telephone. However for the purpose of this exercise, I documented any time that I actually picked up the phone. After this was completed, I compiled the data to accurately determine the average number of hours spent on the phone daily. After tabulating the numbers, I discovered that I was averaging about two hours per day on my phone.

Assessing The Context

While keeping the information about the time spent on my telephone, I also noted the circumstances. It seems that the most common times for me to spend on my phone were in periods of down time. Usually when I was waiting in line, in between classes, or waiting on a friend. Boredom seemed to be the most common times for me to engage in checking emails or texting someone. Another thing that I noticed was that a great deal of my telephone time was spent at night time right before bed. In fact, in several cases during the week, I actually delayed going to bed because of texting friends or family members. Research has shown that a decrease in the amount of sleep that is obtained can be detrimental to health. I have noticed that when I stay up talking on the phone or texting that I am particularly more tired the next day. This means that I am not performing at my best, which could affect my grades, employment and overall life. In regards to my health, I understand that my body needs at least 8 hours of sleep per night in order to repair itself and ensure that I stay healthy, which is another reason that I need to limit my time spent on my phone.

In order to change this, and get more sleep I began turning my phone off at a set time and then prepared for bed. I also started paying more attention to people around me, while waiting in line or during those times of boredom. This has actually helped me decrease the amount of time spent on my telephone because I have become more aware of how much I was actually using my phone. This time that is being spent can be better used doing something more productive.

Monitoring phone usage after that baseline week, I have found that my phone usage has decreased to about one hour per day. This is a significant improvement and I am proud of the success that it has brought. I have also found that by staying off my phone, I actually pay more attention to my surroundings and also others around me. What this has led me to believe is that it is possible to make positive changes in life. While spending extra time on the phone seems harmless, it does actually take away from productive activity. Seeing how some people are addicted to their phones or completely dependent on them, makes me want to change. It is great to know that you can see a flaw in yourself, and make a plan to change it. While I have always known that change is possible and that I am in control of my own life, this exercise certainly reiterates that thought. It is also nice to know that I am not “tied” to a phone or other electronic device to entertain myself. I am able to engage with friends or find others ways to entertain myself rather than grab for the phone. I have set a schedule and check my emails or search the internet at certain times of the day. While I have made great improvements, I would still like to limit my time on the phone; however understand that success is not made over night. I feel good about the progress to date and plan to continue monitoring my technology time. I will continue reducing the time spent on the phone and may even pick another behavior to change!