You have to tell me your rules lol. I want to use my phone without a case but afraid that I'll manage to somehow damage it really bad.
Sure…I'll try and remember them all.
I try to adhere to the following…
• Always use two hands when working with the phone. One handed to answer calls is okay. I text with two hands (one to hold the phone, the other to type).
• Always have a designated spot to set the device down on. I use business card holders on my desk and on my night stand. In the car, my phone goes in the center console cupholder or the center console itself if both cupholders are being used. If you're out, and there are no designated spots (say a restaurant), then unless there is a clean spot, something will go under the device (like a napkin). Otherwise, it stays in a pocket or resting under your thigh. When I was still working at the office, I had a business card holder there for my phone too.
• Transferring your device from a pocket to your hand or a designated spot, or vice-versa is when it's in the most danger. Most people drop their phones during this maneuver. Never let go of the device until you are sure it's secure (I've missed a pocket a few times).
• Put the device away when in crowds. Short of an emergency phone call or text, there is NOTHING worth having your phone jostled out of your hand. If you must use it, stand out of the way if you can. If you can't, protect it with your hands. In certain crowd situations I will actually cradle my phone with both hands to protect it.
• If you need to do something with your phone while out, make sure you're in a space where you won't get jostled and that you aren't trying to do more than one thing at once. I almost dropped my phone once because I was trying to push a grocery card and check an email. I forcefully made myself stop, pulled the cart over to the side and then with two hands checked my phone. You need to know when NOT to proceed with an action that may endanger your phone.
• Identify any potential hazards to your phone in your current environment. For instance, we have leather chairs in our house. I don't set my phone down on the arms of those chairs because leather is slippery and the phone can slide off.
• Pay attention. If you are under the influence of an OTC or prescription drug that makes you drowsy, force yourself to concentrate on what you're doing with your device. I've dropped two phones this way because I had taken an antihistamine and was not paying attention.
And this is the tricky one.
• Become spatially aware of where your phone is relative to your body, your hands, etc and it's orientation. If you know where your phone is in the space around you and how it is oriented you can (hopefully) avoid smacking it into things or having it smacked out of your hand(s).
Lastly…and this one was hard for me to learn. If the phone is starting to drop, do NOT be afraid to put your fingerprints ALL OVER the screen to prevent it from dropping! I hated fingerprints on my screen, but I decided that it's much easier to wipe off fingerprints and save my phone then it is to replace it.
The entire point of all this is to be thinking about your phone and any danger to it. Anticipate danger, be proactive in protecting your device. Most people do NOT want to think this way. It's exactly why a lot of case users use cases. It's intense focus and concentration, and until you get it down where it becomes second nature you'll question why you aren't using a case instead.
But eventually it does become second nature and you'll find that you are instinctively protecting your device
If I can remember any more 'rules', I'll come back and post them.
