Mr Al Young Dot Com

I knew I talked on my cell phone a lot, because it seems like I am always telling my kids to be quiet while I am on the phone. However, I did nit know how much until I looked at my cell phone bill more closely this month. Over 1,500 minutes, not including free nights and weekend or those minutes would be much higher.  That means that over 1 day out of the month, I was on the phone. It does not seem like that much to me because usually I am doing something else while talking on the phone such as driving, or taking my kids to school.

I am on a Cingular family phone plan and share minutes among 4 family members. Our plan used to have 950 shared minutes, and that used to be plenty. In fact we would have a large amount of unused minutes each month that would rollover. However, when I became self employed and started using my phone extensively for business, I quickly used up the balance of the rollover minutes, and ended up having to pay an addition amount each month. So, I upgraded our family plan to include more shared minutes. Now, we have 1,450 shared minutes. Even though some months, I alone exceed that number, it appears to be the right amount of minutes for us. That is because other months, I only use around 1,200 minutes, and the other family members do not use that many minutes. So, on the months where my balance is lower, we build a rollover balance which I can use in the months I exceed the allotted shared minutes.

At first, I found it hard to believe I was on the phone so much, but as I reviewed the details, it appears correct. My family confirms the fact that I am on the phone a lot. The cell phone is a great business too, because you can multitask and do other things while talking, but it can also be distracting. Sometimes I get too involved in my phone conversations, and ignore people around me. I have sometimes missed much of the event I am attending such as a soccer game or swim class with my kids because I am on the phone.

I am trying to limit my time on the phone while with my kids. Since I stopped talking on the phone while taking my kids to schools I have gotten to know many of the other parents. I used to just smile and keep walking while on the phone. Now, I can stop and have a conversation. I am also letting the call go to voicemail more often when I am at home, so it does not take away from family time. I also set aside time during the day to make calls and return messages so the phone is less distracting.