This video by Alex Cornell is disturbingly true:
And after being without cell service for the past few weeks while on a great American roadtrip (Vegas!), we had many conversations with friends along the way lamenting the fact that before cell phones, people made plans, and kept them, because there was no easy way to bail.
But it’s safe to say that we are not going to suddenly devolve into a time without cell phones. SO, collectively we need to find a way to change this flaky behavior, or as we affectionately call it here in British Columbia, THE BC BAIL.
Here are a few of my current ideas:
#1. If there is the slightest chance you will not make it to a social function, from the get-go put yourself down as a “maybe” or better yet, a “no”. It’s always better to surprise people by showing up versus disappointing them.
#2. Recognize how many plans in a week and/or weekend you enjoy/can handle, and don’t schedule MORE than that. For example, I’ve recognized that I don’t like to have plans two nights in a row during the week. So now ahead of time I try to spread them out, as a pre-emptive strike on bailing on them the day before or day of.
#3. Stop making plans weeks in advance, and start making “spontaneous plans”. I find the nights where we call up friends and say “want to go to dinner right now” and it’s an unexpected plan are far more enjoyable than ones that have been pre-planned.
But I have by no means found the solution to this issue that Alex Cornell so beautiful illustrates, so please, share your own thoughts! Ourselves and our future generations not turning into total jerk-faces depends on it.
ps. If you are addicted to your phone, here are some other parameters you may want to check out.
