How to Control Phone Usage Without Looking Controlling

Ultimize. According to The Independent, phone bans are no longer just for schools, concerts, and comedy clubs where comedians don't want their jokes leaked by some guy named Bryce with 12 followers. They're now spreading into the workplace. The Independent reports that companies are locking up phones or forcing workers to use sealed pouches to reduce distractions and protect sensitive information. One company, it's called ID.me, has had about 290 support employees using locked phone pouches for more than 3 years. Employees keep the pouch with them, but they can only unlock it in a magnetic station. I gotta tell you, I love this. I think this is the greatest thing ever. One ID.me employee told The Independent the ban helped her connect with coworkers. She said, quote, it gets us to connect with each other, talk to each other. Imagine that, human beings talking to other human beings at work. What a radical concept. We used to call that having a job. Now it's treated like an Amish retreat. And JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly called phones in meetings disrespectful and said people reading text and emails during meetings has to stop. Good for him. Diamond is exactly right on that because cell phones are the wildest, craziest distraction machines ever invented. Let's be honest. And hey, I like my cell phone. I'm having to use it right now to livestream with TikTok, but I'm not going to be checking texts while I'm giving this news broadcast, this news analysis. Because let's face it, a smartphone is not just a phone. It's a casino, a sports bar, a gossip machine, a shopping mall, a porn theater, a dating app, a slot machine, and a tiny glowing demon whispering, "Don't listen to your boss. Check if your ex watched your story." And somehow we've normalized this. If someone came to work holding a large TV and watching soccer games all day long, everyone would say, "Looks like Gary's finally snapped." But if Gary checks his phone every 2 seconds for sports scores, text messages, fantasy football updates, dating app matches, and how much money he lost on Cash App, we call that being reachable. Well, no, that's not being reachable. That's being professionally useless with unlimited data. At my own workplace, I have a cell phone ban right now. Now, it is true I have my cell phone on, but I'm not allowing myself to touch it during this entire live broadcast and recording session. Later in the day, I will be in a recording session for 3 hours a day. I put my cell phone in another room. I'm not allowed to touch my own cell phone, and I'm the boss. That's how serious I am about this. I made a rule so strict, even the dictator has to obey it because I don't trust myself either. None of us are magical productivity monks. You put that phone near me and suddenly I'm not running a business any longer. I'm checking whether a stranger in Nebraska liked my post from 2019. I'm not the only one. And the worst version of this is when someone is giving a presentation. Someone worked 2 months on it. They researched it. They rehearsed it. They made slides. They probably had 3 emotional breakdowns over whether the graph should be blue or slightly darker blue. And then some employee in the front row pulls out a phone like, "Hold on, I need to see if my burrito delivery is 2 minutes away." Are you kidding me? That's not multitasking. That's you announcing your 2 months of work on less important— are less important than the notification I get from Buffalo Wild Wings. If you wouldn't pull out a 65-inch TV during a meeting, plug it in, and start watching Manchester United or the Miami Dolphins, then don't pull out your cell phone in a meeting. It's the same insult, smaller screen. And companies are finally realizing this. A phone policy on paper isn't enough. Please don't check your phone. Just saying that works about as well as saying don't eat the donuts in the break room. The phone has to go away. During work. A locked pouch, a drawer, a different room, volcano. I'm flexible. But this idea that every employee has a constitutional right to spend half the meeting checking TikTok is insane. You're paid to work, not to refresh sports scores, not to swipe left, not to watch your crypto portfolio slowly turn into a GoFundMe. So yeah, I applaud these companies Ban the phones. Not forever, not in emergencies, not during breaks, but when people are working, meeting, presenting, listening, thinking, put the glowing rectangle away. Because at some point adults had to relearn the skills toddlers already understand. Look at the person talking to you. Now, I haven't had a lot of employees in the last decade or so working in the same room, the same building as I have. But I remember even 20 years ago, I mean, this was before smartphones. I had an employee who just could not ever work on one thing. She would do some work typing at the same time she's on her phone on speaker dial making restaurant reservations all morning long. And she only worked half time. Like, look, I need your time. Put your phone away. She wouldn't do it, and she was not able to work for us any longer. So this is not a new problem, but what is new is this power of this cell phone is simply so much more addictive and more distractive. And that's why I think it's smart that more companies are saying, look, You come to work, the phone goes in a pouch. You know, there's one thing I always find interesting. People will listen to a podcast like this, get ideas, maybe even feel a little motivated, and then just move on with their day. Nothing actually changes. And I get it. Information alone doesn't do it. Repetition does. That's actually why we built Ultimize. So if you're getting any value from this, just go to ultimize.com. That's spelled ultimize.com. There's a free course waiting for you there. You can start with communication skills, you can start with building better habits, but the whole idea is simple. Don't just hear something once, actually build it into your life. Again, it's free. Go to ultimize.com. Ultimize.