When is the last time you went without your phone for more than 30 minutes? I can already hear the groans: Not another article about getting off your phone or telling me that my phone is bad and that we should all disconnect forever. This isn’t to tell you to throw away your phone and never look back. Rather, this is a reminder to check in with your relationship with your phone: How much do you use it, do you use it to cope, and do you use it and neglect your responsibilities and interests? 

This month, one article focuses on unplugging from devices. Hannah Brencher challenged herself to turn off her phone for 1,000 hours in one year. She explains she “wasn’t unplugged for 1,000 hours straight or throwing her phone away to go live in the woods.” Instead, she started turning off her phone for one hour a day to pay more attention to life around her, allowing her to focus on her work, passions, people, and goals. 

This challenge of hers exceeded her expecations—and mine. The more we look down at our phones, the more we miss life around us. The more we look down at our phones, the less interest we have in our hobbies, our relationships, our goals, and our spiritual disciplines. Our phones become a second life, a window to the outside world, and we stay inside and watch life through that window. We disconnect from the life outside that window, or we balance two lives: one outside that window and one inside. 

When we spend most of our time watching through that window, we lose parts of ourselves that have potential to be really great. Our relationships take a hit, and we lose the beautiful connection found within showing up for one another in person. 

In this digital age, communication is one of the most important skills we can learn. That’s what another author, Akosua Frempong, writes in this month’s issue. Healthy communication encourages respect and understanding, reduces conflict, and builds trust with one another, she writes. In this digital age, as we watch life through that window, our communication skills can dwindle—how we see and communicate with each other can change and we can miss out on cultivating real, tangible connections. 

Check in with your phone usage. Check that screen time report. Read through these articles this month to inspire you to unplug, and go experience life outside that window.