Airplane Mode

Have you ever considered that if you are having difficulty relaxing it may be connected to, well, being connected?

On a recent trip we left our iPhones on “Airplane” mode because we were traveling to an area with no phone connectivity and no internet. This allowed us to continue to use the phones’ other valuable functions such as the alarm clock in the mornings, the camera during the day, and the flashlight in the dead of night. The better part of a week went by and we were amazed to discover that we still had more than half of the batteries’ charges remaining.

In addition to making calls, we typically use our phones to go up on the web, read the news and watch Youtube. We also do things such as update our schedule, check the weather, access emails, and send texts and WhatsApp messages, too. These activities take energy, of course, but there is also an energy drain when all is said and done and the apps are left open. Our phones lose even more juice when they try to find a Wi-Fi connection or phone service when the connection has been lost, because they automatically continuously search to complete the loop. The phone’s internal computer is “distracted” by all the incompletions. They are programmed to keep checking to see if something needs to be done – download an email, deliver a message or make an update. All of this happens behind the scenes, generally without our awareness, and it is a constant energy drain.

Our minds work in the same way as those devices. They are programmed to search for incompletions, becoming drawn to that light bulb that needs to be changed, the bed that is unmade, the phone call that needs to be returned. The mind worries over all the things begging for attention in our environment the same way your tongue will worry a sore tooth. The checking and worrying and trying to complete that which is not currently available to be done – or that which you are unwilling to do – takes energy and drains your battery, too.

Hmmm – no wonder so many of us are distracted, perpetually tired and have trouble relaxing. Sometimes, just completing something, such as straightening the desk or washing that dish or restocking that toilet paper roll, instantaneously gives us more energy reserves to work with. At other times, it’s a great idea to close our mental desktop for the night and restart again in the morning.

If you find that your mind is like a machine that doesn’t want to shut down, try making a simple list – it can take things out of your head and complete them for the moment allowing for relaxation. Then when you “restart” in the morning and reconnect to your environment, you may just have the energy you need to complete those projects that are left.