The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

by John Mark Comer

Cue the haunting line from Jesus of Nazareth: “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”15

Here’s my point: the solution to an overbusy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.

7. Turn your smartphone into a dumbphone. A number of years ago, Jake Knapp’s article “My Year with a Distraction-Free iPhone (and How to Start Your Own Experiment)” hit the internet like wildfire, and a lot of us joined the movement.8 Okay, there’s no movement. Just my friend Josh and me. But we’re into it. Since then the catchphrase has become the “dumbphone.” As in, well, you get it. There’s no official checklist, but here’s what we suggest: Take email off your phone. Take all social media off your phone, transfer it to a desktop, and schedule set times to check it each day or, ideally, each week. Disable your web browser. I’m a bit lenient on this one since I hate surfing the web on my phone and use this only

Delete every single app you don’t need or that doesn’t make your life seriously easier. And keep all the wonder apps that do make life so much easier—maps, calculator, Alaska Airlines, etc. What Knapp put in one box and labeled “The Future.”

10. Keep your phone off until after your morning quiet time. The stats are ominous: 75 percent of people sleep next to their phones, and 90 percent of us check our phones immediately upon waking.9 I can’t think of a worse way to start my day than a text from my work, a glance at email, a quick (sure…) scroll through social media, and a news alert about that day’s outrage. That is a surefire recipe for anger, not love. Misery, not joy. And definitely not peace. Listen: do not let your phone set your emotional equilibrium and your news feed set your view of the world. At the risk of coming off angsty and political, remember, “freedom of the press” is a

11. Set times for email. This isn’t only my suggestion; pretty much every self-help writer, time-management guru, workplace-efficiency expert, opinion blogger, etc. all say the same thing. Do not have email on your phone. Do not glance at it when you get a free moment in the elevator or in a boring meeting. Do not answer random emails throughout the day. Instead: set a time to do email and stick to it. I have the luxury of doing email only once a week. Every Monday morning at ten o’clock, I open my inbox and don’t stop until I’m down to zero. For the rest of the week, I have an auto reply that basically says, I’ll get back to you on Monday.