This morning, I got ready to go to the gym and released, to my horror, that both my phone and apple watch were out of battery. I had forgotten to charge them the night prior. For a moment, I considered plugging them in and pushing my schedule back 30 minutes, but since I had plans soon afterwards, I decided to just go without my usual devices.

Here are some observations from the subsequent gym session:

1. I am uncomfortably attached to devices. I wake and sleep with my phone near me, I do nearly all my work on a laptop, and listen to audiobooks and podcasts on the fly. The apple watch I wear constantly tracks my steps, heart rate and activity levels without me even knowing. Even in the hospital, notes are typed on a computer and it is common to use your phone to quickly look up a drug dose. So this hour in the gym, with no screen or book to listen to, was mildly uncomfortable.

2. Nearly everyone else appears to be the same. I counted 9 people in the gym while I was there, and every single one either had headphones in or were on their phones in between sets. Only one person aside from me did not have headphones in, and only two aside from me did not wear a smartwatch. It seems this device abundance is universal.

3. The session became far more enjoyable. I began noticing little things in the gym: the dusty smell mixed with sweat, the lack of wet wipes, the strange angle on one of the machines, a unique haircut. To my surprise, memories from a long time ago began seeping in as well. Some I hadn’t thought of in many years. I think they were lingering in my subconscious for some time, waiting for a moment where I wasn’t occupied.

4. My workout was much more effective. With no distractions, I was able to focus intently on the exercises I was doing. As a result, I felt that I was giving them more effort and hitting unexpected personal bests. I think my usual routine of listening to audiobooks spreads my focus out too thin and leads me to lift less than I could.

Overall, this technical blunder turned out to be an illuminating experience on my dependence on devices, and what magic can transpire in the absence of them. I’m not quite ready to eliminate them as a whole (à la Cal Newport) but will actively seek out more moments of solitude in the future.