Cell Phones: An Invitation, Not a Command

When a phones rings, bings, or chimes, it's an invitation. Not a command.

This is what I tell myself whenever I hear it make a sound and I'm sitting at the table, driving the car, talking with friends, or engaged in anything else where I want to be completely present and focused.

I do not need to drop everything and rush to see who needs what. It is perfectly acceptable to keep doing what I'm doing and get to my phone when I'm able and interested.

This is something I hope to model for my kids, too, so they know what to do when they're old enough for phones.

How do you manage the lure of technology? What helpful limits do you give yourself or your kids?

(Photo of Audrey Hepburn, at her Beverly Hills apartment, by Mark Shaw.)