Believe it or not, iPhones have been around since 2007. And, after over a decade, we are all starting to realize that, while this technology is a gift, it can also be a curse.
What was supposed to be a helpful tool for us, may have started turning us into tools. (Bwah ha ha. Hand clap for that turn of phrase.)
That may seem extreme, but just think, how long can you go without touching your phone? On average, we pick up our phones 58 times per day.
I gotta admit, I love my phone too. On the positive end, I use it for communicating, for navigating, for music, but on the negative side, I also use it to avoid doing something I don’t want to do, to escape my kids, or just because I’m bored.
Sometimes I wonder, how many more books would I read, how many more crafts would I do, how many more times would I connect with my girls, if I spent less time on my phone.
So, I thought it was fitting that I include spending less time on our phones as a feature in this series on making your New Year’s resolutions simpler and easier to achieve.
8 Practical Ways to Spend Less Time on Your Phone
1. Put it away.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? If you can’t see your phone, you are much less likely to reach for it. Even if you just start with 30 minutes a day, put your phone away in a drawer.
2. Schedule time.
We all have our favorite time wasters on our phones—apps, social media, Google, etc. (Mine is Instagram.) You don’t have to give up those things completely. Just schedule time to play on your phone. And you get to decide for yourself how long that time lasts- 20 minutes? 30? 45? Cause even 45 minutes at one time is better than checking your phone 58 times per day.
3. Have no or less phone days.
If you are up for a real challenge, set a couple of “no phone days” each month. Put your phone in a drawer and try to use it as little as possible. I recommend doing this on a weekend day so fewer people are trying to get in touch with you. Find other ways to listen to music or read, make a list of things you need to Google for later, and use Bluetooth headphones to make any calls that are a priority. Get creative, but just see if you can do it. And if you can rope other members of your family into it, all the better.
4. Get acquainted with Do Not Disturb.
One of the reasons I am hesitant to turn my phone off is I want to be available in case of emergency. What if a family member out of state, my husband, or school needed to reach me, but my phone was off? More and more of us don’t have landlines anymore, myself included. Enter Do Not Disturb. Did you know that you can use this function to completely silence your phone except for calls from phone numbers that you select? Epic! This article explains how you can set up Do Not Disturb on an iPhone. And this one shares how to set it up on an Android.
5. Get a smart watch.
I was hesitant to get another tech device, especially one that you wear all the time. But a smart watch actually lets you spend less time with your phone in hand. My smart watch, when paired with a Bluetooth headphone or earbuds, lets me listen to music or podcasts, respond to texts, make phone calls, check items off my grocery list, set timers and much more. It also allows you to check email, but I keep that function turned off because I don’t want to set the expectation for myself or others that I must respond to emails instantly.
6. Delete social media apps.
Social media companies dseign these apps to make us want to spend time on them. And it works. Whether your social media of choice is Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or YouTube, it is easy to get sucked in. So, my trick is to delete my social media apps on the weekend. I can easily pull up the site in desktop mode if I need to look up something, but I rarely need to do that. And, I’ve noticed that I get a lot more accomplished and spend more time reading when I don’t use social media.
7. Turn off notifications.
You know what makes us want to grab our phones more? Those little dings and badges that tell us we have a new email, message, comment, etc. Turn off as many of those notifications as you can. I get notifications for text messages and missed phone calls but that is it. I am one of those people who feels the need to deal with notifications immediately, so they would drive me nuts if I didn’t turn them off.
8. Choose a different distraction.
Many times we will pick up our phones when we are waiting—in line, at an appointment, at school pickup. What if, instead, we used this extra time to do something we enjoy more than scrolling, like reading a book or magazine, doing a crossword puzzle or Sudoku, talking to someone around us, planning the rest of our day, writing a card to send to someone special, meal planning or making a grocery list, or planning a date night or girls night.
So, I’m going to challenge you to put away your phone this coming weekend. Set a reminder for early Saturday morning to put your phone away, and when it goes off, put your phone in a drawer. Pretend it’s the 90s again and experience life without a smartphone.
And, if you take me up on this challenge, I would love to hear what you learned. Send me an email or leave me a message on Facebook or Instagram.
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