One of the most addictive habits, especially in this technological world, is texting. It is so easy to get addicted to texting and forget that their is a world outside the virtual environment. In fact, people spend so much time texting instead of spending more of that time planning and building their goals. With the so much advantage that texting brings to us, getting addicted to it is quite dangerous to our safety and our goals, most importantly.
Yes, with texting, you can easily reach out to people in case of emergencies, form relationships, build bonds with old and new relationships, and also get to meet new people. In order not to get conformed to this habit of consistent texting, I had to develop my private rules to make sure I remain productive and focus on the things that really matter.
What are my personal texting rules?
The first of them is to stay clear of texting when I wake up in morning. The first thing I do in the morning must not include texting or aimlessly scrolling through social media. Doing this in a way can get me distracted and ruin my whole day, forgetting to do things that really matter.
So instead, I make sure I walk through my morning routine before I choose to open my WhatsApp, Discord, or any social media application on my device.
The second texting rule is to put my phone on DND anytime I am working or doing something of importance. I find it very distracting to receive notification on my phone while working. It takes away my attention and urges me to check what text I received. And when I come back to what I was previously doing, I find it difficult to connect. It will take more time to reconnect back to it and also make me not finish in time.
So it is always best for me to put my phone on DND, especially when I am busy doing something of importance. Then, when I am done, I will just give myself some time to do all I need to do with my phone before moving to the next activity.
The third rule here is not to text while walking on the road. This is a very dangerous thing to do and I try my best, no matter how tempting it is not to. Truth is most times, I forget and I find myself doing it.
One method I use to avoid texting while walking on the road is to put my phone on DND, plug in my ears, and listen to a podcast at a low volume. In this manner, I am able to pay attention to my surroundings and avoid being distracted by notifications.
How does texting influence my relationship with friends and families?
I think this is pretty much the same for everyone. Personally, I don't chit chat with many people on per say aside from just a regular check up. I see it as childish to chat with people aimlessly without a goal or something to exchange aside from a regular checkup with friends and families or just leaving my opinion to their uploads on status.
The people I regularly chat with more often are people with whom my goals align. We must have something in common that is beneficial to each other. It could be a career, skill, or anything. Although I don't have a lot of people on this list, and I'm trying my best to have a very small amount of close friends.
Potential Consequences for not following my Texting Etiquette
If I don't follow my texting rules, I may end up having an unproductive day. This rule is set up so that I can be inspired to face up to the tasks ahead of the day instead of wasting the time on something of less importance.
It also improves my attention span, as opposed to being distracted every second or minute by the constant stream of notifications on my phone. Imagine I have to reply to every text that comes in every minute. Sometimes I might even see a notification i.e. Hi, How far, How are you?, and choose not to reply it because it does not show any sign of urgency or importance. Depending on the individual, message like that is kept till when I am more free and relaxed in the evening to reply to.
Also, I can not risk being crushed by roadside vehicles while texting on the road. So following this rule is of great importance to my life.
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