I discovered an iPhone/Android feature recently. Or really, I should say I rediscovered it. And it’s seriously helped my marriage and family life. And I think it could help yours.
First, before I tell you what it is, let me say that one of the consistent comments I’ve seen on TheCourage and in The Heart of Family online marriage and family course is that technology is getting in the way of being an engaged mother/father/spouse. It’s a problem. And I have been chief among the strugglers.
It flared up again recently, as launching The Heart of Family has been both exhilarating and consuming. I’ve found myself once again glued to my phone in excess, instantly grabbing it at the slightest “ding” to see what I need to do. It’s affected my marriage, as my wife and I have been co-existing more and more these last couple weeks instead of investing in our relationship. (Thank you Lesson 1 for that reminder!)
If your marriage is struggling or could use a little tune-up, click here
That’s where the phone feature comes in. I was doing a little research and came across it. I had heard about it before, but never really used it. I tried it, and it’s been awesome. Now, I have an iPhone, but it also works on Androids, too. Let me demonstrate with pictures.
First, there’s a button on the right side of your phone. Find it:
Next, if you press that button and hold it in for about three seconds, something pops up:
Here’s where it gets really cool. See, if you slide that bar to the right, your phone does something amazing: It stops receiving messages, emails, and calls and stops dinging you at all times of the day and night. In fact, even if you pick it up, you can’t get to your messages with the click of a button. The screen doesn’t even turn on! This is what it looks like:
Now, I don’t have an Android, but I’ve been assured that there is a similar process. So here’s my recommendation to you: Find blocks of time to use this feature on your phone. Maybe it’s for a few hours when you get home from work and really need to invest in your marriage and kids. Maybe it’s when you’re sleeping so that you don’t find yourself rolling over in bed and checking email or social media in the middle of the night. Whatever you need to do, do it! This feature was created for a reason!
It just might save your marriage and your family.
(Full disclosure: I feel like I saw a video similar to this recently, but I searched and searched this morning and couldn’t find it. If you know what I’m talking about, let me know so I can add it.)
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