Overcoming Techno-crastination

Sometimes I am a procrastinator, and sometimes I am a technophobe. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Procrastination is the putting off, and avoidance, of things you know you should (or must) do. Technophobia is, in my case, fear of letting go of the comfort of the old, and embracing the new, specifically: my iPhone.

Until last week, I was holding on to a decrepit old cell phone. The screen fell off regularly and collected dust and debris each time it was stuck back in place. I realize now that this was the first phone I have ever replaced before its death. It became my security blanket, when I did not turn its service off immediately, I told myself, “I’ll do it next week.”

Each next week ran into the next week. I was carrying around my beautiful new iPhone in one pocket, and the old, broken down, sad story in the other. It felt kind of safe.

Evan, my nephew (ten, soon eleven) would not allow me to continue my techno-crastination. He would ask to see the iPhone, and inquire as to whether I got rid of the “other” phone. I would tell him “next week.” Then, as if to say, “The blanky has got to go,” Evan said, “Dor, you just have to shut that old phone off.”

He was right, and I could hide my techno-crastination no longer. I turned off the old, and moved my mobile number to the iPhone.

Looking back at my blog post titled, "The iPhone Cometh," published in mid-July of last year, I became aware that I have been procrastinating for much longer than I realized. Three months, six months, eight months…but who’s counting?

Thanks for the nudge, Evan, I needed that!