So how many times do you check your phone? 5, 10, or 15 times. Most of us would say, definitely more than that. We take our phones to the bathroom, to the gym and even to our dining tables. It is difficult to go on a holiday or meet up friends without posting it on social media. Phone addiction is a real thing and spreading like a wildfire. Here are some tips to minimize phone addiction.
Delete unnecessary apps: Delete all apps which are unproductive, mainly social media ones. It is mainly the urge to just open our phones and click on the Instagram icon and surf for no good reason. It doesn’t help us in any way, not physically, not mentally. Instead, it gives us FOMO, something we do not need in our lives. For shopaholics, you might want to delete all of those shopping apps, it will not only help your health but your wallet too.
Turn off notifications: It is difficult enough to simply not look at our phones as it is and almost impossible to not look at it after that notification sound. Put all of the extra notifications off, you might spare the calls and messages or even your Gmail for professional reasons, but other than that these notifications need to go.
Create phone-free timezones: It is unimaginable to go for a walk, or for grocery shopping, or even coffee dates without the phone. But go for it, try keeping it at home while you go out, it is going to be super awkward at first, you might even try reaching for it in your pocket but eventually, you will become comfortable with the situation. People who have tried this have fallen in love with their phone-free time, well most of them. It lets you enjoy the simple joys of life like looking around at the pretty surroundings while you walk or having a small talk with the person you frequently encounter at the grocery store or observing the dog play in your neighborhood.
Make smartphone use a tedious task: Keep your phone away in some other room, or have a super long password, the fact that you need to do so much work for just one peek of that screen for no good reason will make it easier for you to get away from the habit of grabbing your phone all the freaking time.
Reward yourself: Every time you hit a milestone on your way to beat the smartphone addiction, reward yourself. Get your favorite dessert or that bag you’ve been eyeing for a while to reinforce your dedication. You can use multiple apps to track your phone usage, or in this case, track the reduction in phone usage. Some apps allow you to check the total time while some record the number of screen unlocks. You can choose whatever suits you the best.
These are just a few ideas that have worked for people around me, the first two being the most effective. I would love for you to comment below the other tactics you think can help, and together let’s create a better community to live in!!
