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Writer and Musician, Jahnavi Harrison.

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I watched an interview with Ed Sheeran recently - he is a fellow ginger so I feel a kinship - anyway he was saying that for quite some time now he hasn’t owned a phone–apparently he just has a tablet and answers emails when he feels like it. Anyone that knows me knows that this is pretty much my go-to fantasy.Ìý Perhaps I am guilty of a little too much nostalgic reverie for the days before the internet and smartphone.

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I first got a phone when I was about 18 and I’ve had one ever since. My use of it started out low – as with most new initiates I think. Just a few texts here and there. But as my life expanded - as the social media world sprouted like a particularly fast growing weed, I soon found myself entangled in something I wasn’t quite prepared for.Ìý I think ‘notification fatigue’ sums it up well enough.Ìý So I was in awe listening to Ed explain how he does it, and for a few days I seriously contemplated throwing my phone away. I always arrive at the same conclusion though.Ìý As I reach deeper for the root of my unease with it, all I can see that what I feel most uncomfortable about is how it fractures my attention span – how it eats up time that I used to spend doing other things I value.Ìý

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Really the problem is not the phone – it’s how I use it.

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I practise meditation every day and at this time there is no hiding from the truth of my distracted mind.Ìý The teachings of yoga say that the mind is by nature always flickering either contemplating the future or the past, or accepting and rejecting. I’ve tested myself on that one – it’s true! When my mind is uncontrolled I will always be dragged here and there…but I have found that regular meditation can work wonders. Simple mindfulness techniques and breathing exercises are great for slowing and calming the mind, bringing it to the present moment. My daily practise is mantra meditation, which involves repeating a sacred mantra whilst counting on beads, like a rosary.Ìý

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But – I’m not making the leap into lo-fi land– for now at least. The phone can stay – but more than ever, I’m certain it’s my mind that needs to be put on airplane mode…