Our Family Mobile Phone Policy

I love my iPhone.  Aside from checking and updating my social media accounts, my iPhone has made life a little more convenient for me.

• I rely on Calendar and Reminders for my daily schedule and to-dos.
• I check my account balance, transfer funds and pay my bills using my bank's app.
• Google Maps, Waze and Twitter help me plan my driving route, especially during weekends.
• I use the Holy Bible app for my quiet time and I can save my notes from the Sunday preaching.
• Because I love sharing Julia's photo's on IG, I use Moldiv, Typic, Photfy or Pomelo to edit photos.
• I use iWatermark, Scanner Pro, Drop Box, Evernote and Quick Office for work and blogging.
• I help my brother answer queries on the Facebook Page of Pacific Palm Suites.
• I stay connected with overseas friends and relatives using Face Time and Viber.

I pretty much rely on my iPhone for almost everything.  Obviously, I carry it with me often.  So often that I hold it more often than my daughter's hand.  Yup, sad.  Shameful, but it's the truth.  I wrote about the wake up call Don and I experienced a few months back.  It made such a huge impact on us that we talked about it over lunch the day it happened.  The objective is to minimize our use gadgets when we are spending time as a family.  So, this is our commitment:

Written on Amici's paper place mat

Dapat hanggang #3 lang but I had to negotiate for #4.  It is applicable when we are spending time with Julia or when we are out for our date night.

Let me explain.  Ang OA naman if hindi talaga pwede gamiting ang mobile phone di'ba?

Replying to emails can wait.  If it is urgent, the sender will call or send a text message.  Answering calls and text messages should be quick.  If it is work-related and not important, we should answer it at a later time. Checking social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram can easily use up 10-30 minutes.  So bawal yun.  However, posting on social media will not take as much time.  So for #4, we have the discretion to determine the acceptable time that we should spend on answering calls, texting and posting on social media.  For me, 1-3 minutes is acceptable.  If it will take longer than that, I tell Don that I need more time in answering a call or a text message.  For posting on Facebook or Instagram, I make sure I do it as quick as I can.

So far, we are doing well.  We sometimes need to remind each other because it is so easy to zone out when we are using our phone.  It is challenging but we are glad we made this a family policy.  Recently, we added a #5.  NEVER USE PHONE WHILE DRIVING.  No buts -- safety first.    

How about you?  Are you always online?  How much of your time is spent on the phone -- replying to your emails and checking your social media accounts?  Do you have rules at home on the use of mobile phones? Anything you want to suggest that we should add to our list?