1. People don't set firm plans with people who own telephones.
"Okay, I'll call you around 3, and maybe we'll meet at like 7, or I don't know, I'll let you know at 5 if..."
"Sorry dude, I don't have a phone. Are we on for 7 or not?"
"Yeah, okay."
I love that.
2. The telephone destroys your ability to focus.
Middle of something important. Deep thinking. Creativity.
RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING RING ARALKNMRAKSRMSDLRFMDSKFMLSDFMSLDFMSDLFMSDFLKSDLFMSDLKHMRELMGKERGPSDGPOFDGKDP.
Yeah, that sucks. No phone? Score!
3. Scheduling times for calls is good.
I mostly use SkypeOut and call from my computer. I have my notes in front of me, my full schedule in front of me, and know when my calls are scheduled so I can appropriately prepare and research instead of someone just calling when I'm about to get on a train in the middle of the rain. Yeah, that's much better.
4. You do lose flaky unreliable people, but they're useless anyways.
I'm so serious dude. Go watch a gangster movie. The flaky unreliable idiot cousin always gets the boss killed.
But if you don't have a phone, you can't get in touch with idiot cousin, and you stay alive.
You can't build an empire with flaky people. Reliable people can handle having a scheduled call time and hopping on their Skype or taking your call if they're old fashioned use-a-phone people. Flaky "let's connect sometime" people have you winding up face down in a ditch outside of Las Vegas.
5. You don't have to deal with phone companies.
So I know a lot of people in Beijing, so I tried to get a SIM card and get the phone thing going. What a fucking nightmare. The store where the China Mobile was before is out of business and looks like it was looted and robbed. I buy a sim card from a kiosk for 80 yuan, activate it, and then the phone company tells me it won't work for a week.
A week? You useless bastards, I won't even be here in a week. Skype just works. Dealing with the phone company takes years off your life.
6. You don't have to pay the phone company.
A friend of mine wasn't paying attention while on roaming and gets a $215 bill for using his phone for like 33 seconds in Japan.
The phone company's entire business model is reliant on screwing you when you're not paying attention. It takes years off your life and it sucks and it's unpleasant and you probably wind up paying thousands of dollars for the damn phone and bills. SkypeOut - 5 cents a minute to most places, you watch your Skype credit going down, and know exactly how much every call costs. Awesome.
7. Everything thinks you've got huge balls.
Everyone hates the phone company, hates paying their phone bill, hates getting interrupted, hates people who can't make firm plans, generally hates and dreads their phone, but no one gets rid of the damn thing.
Guy - "Hey dude, I'll call you and maybe we can link up if we're free or maybe we won't."
Me - "I don't have a phone and keep a tight schedule. I'm free at Time X, Time Y, and Time Z. If you can do one, we'll link up. If not, that's okay too."
Guy - "You've got huge balls. I wish I had huge balls."
But you don't need huge balls to get rid of your phone. Just do it. Get rid of it. I know you hate the phone. You've fantasized about getting rid of it.
Do it! You'd think you'd get a hard time from people, but you don't. You get this sense of awe and a deep longing from people to do the same. "Oh man, I wish I could do that."
You can. Do it. Ditching the phone leads to a long, healthy, happy, prosperous life. The alternative is winding up face down in a ditch. That's a no-brainer. Kill the phone.