Technology usually makes our lives easier.

It also makes it so we don’t have to practice a few basic skills.

After years of smartphone use, many of us can’t even remember a phone number.

Here’s how to get the skills that matter back.

It’s easy to cry wolf and lament for a time that used to be.

It’s easy to get addicted to turn-by-turn navigation.

But over-reliance on turn-by-turn navigation has its downfalls.

The most obvious is when your battery dies and leaves you stranded.

In a worst case scenario, you’ll end up lost with no idea how to get back.

This isn’t just a driving problem, it’s a problem with navigating a city in general.

Case in point; I moved to Seattle a little over a year ago.

One day I decided to take a long bike ride around Lake Washington.

My phone was dead.

It didn’t go so well.

What would have solved this problem?

A paper map would have helped and memorizing the directions beforehand would have saved me a lot of trouble.

I’d been so reliant on GPS that I hadn’t learned the city at all.

I didn’t know which highways connected where or which main roads could get me home.

Worse, my sense of direction was totally off.

Since then, I’veweaned myself off GPS.

Now, I’ll look at the traffic, but otherwise leave the turn-by-turn navigation off.

I own a paper map of the city.

These tips work just as well when you’re on vacation in a new city.

Find your hotel’s landmark, then hit the streets exploring without relying on GPS.

You might be surprised at how much cool hidden stuff you find.

Of course, the solution here is to memorize phone numbers again.

A lot of different tricks are out there to help you memorize numbers.

you could even use anapp like Eideticto help you remember numbers through forced repetition.

You should have at least a couple emergency numbers beyond 911 memorized.

You never know when you’ll need them.

We even neglect talking to a cashier by going through automated checkstands.

Surprisingly though, talking tostrangers has all kinds of benefits.

Smartphones have made it so we always have entertainment in our pockets.

It’s always been this way.

It feels more productive, but doing so neglects the basic human need to communicate with people.

I think of it as a Goldilocks effect…

Human relationships are rich; they’re messy and demanding.

We have learned the habit of cleaning them up with technology.

And the move from conversation to connection is part of this.

But it’s a process in which we shortchange ourselves.

Worse, it seems that over time we stop caring, we forget that there is a difference.

But they don’t.

But no matter how valuable, they do not substitute for conversation.

We’re not good at basic communication these days.

When we’re not doing that, we’re not taking the time to learn from these interactions.

To get these basic human skills back, you’ll need to set up aset up rules for yourself.

Mental Math

When was the last time you calculated something without a calculator?

Basically, you never have to use your brain to calculate anything if you don’t want to.

To find 15%, find 10%, then add 5%.

To find 20%, find 10% and double it.

To find 25%, find 50% and then halve it.

To find 60%, find 50% and add 10%.

To find 75%, find 50% and add 25%.

It’s not just about calculating a tip or dividing up a check on the fly.

you could do a ton ofbasic calculations in your head.

It might seem like a parlour trick, but it’s advantageous for many reasons.

First off, you don’t have to waste time pulling out a calculator at a restaurant.

Second off, you’ll have a better understanding of what you’re talking about.

Even being able toquickly multiply single-digit numberscan save you all kinds of time.

The next time you’re trying to figure out a tip, leave the calculator in your pocket.

Personally, I also spend a little time practicing mental math in weird ways.

When I fill up the tank I’ll calculate my miles per gallon.

When I’m cooking, I’ll skip Google and figure out ratios on my own.

The more you do it, the quicker you’ll become.

Breaking away from technology makes things surprisinglyeasiersometimes.

Photos byStokkete,Eusebius@Commons,Ze’ev Barkan,Jean-Francois Gornet.