Smartphones are some of the most useful tech in the world right now, but they can distract you from other tasks. If you feel like you’re not getting a lot out of your day, then you might need to take steps to minimise how much time you spend with your tech. Here’s our guide for the smartphone addicted.
Reduce the Number of Notifications
A push notification can prove all too tempting for those that struggle to put their phone away. With so many different apps and messages to watch out for, you may find that these types of notifications just put pressure on you to check your phone.
Some apps are worse than others when it comes to sending push notifications. Games and lifestyle apps can make you feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of times they attempt to tempt you back.
Most phones allow you to turn off the notifications for each app, which will allow you to reduce the overall amount coming to your phone. Then, you can just watch out for the important messages that you actually need to pay attention to.
Declutter your Homescreen
On your smartphone, you probably have quite a few apps on your homescreen for quick access. However, these are probably the main culprits that take up your time, like Facebook and Reddit. Hiding these away in the main menu means you’re less likely to keep tapping them and opening them up.
If they’re only just a tap away then you’ll be more likely to open them up and get procrastinating! Put a nice wallpaper on your homescreen instead and enjoy the minimalist style. This can also make the screen feel less busy, which will chill you out when you look at it.
Create No Smartphone Zones
We tend to take our smartphones everywhere with us, from the office to our beds at night. Therefore, it’s little wonder that we can’t stop looking at them! Creating no smartphone zones at home or even in the office can help you get accustomed to not having this device glued to your hands at all time.
Keep your charger away from your nightstand to banish your phone from the bedroom. You can invest in an alarm clock to wake you up in the mornings and sever the connection to this constant. This can actually help you to sleep a lot easier, as you won’t be bothered by the blue light, which can prevent you from falling asleep.
Stick to a Schedule
Smartphones can cause us to procrastinate, especially if you’re putting off a difficult task. This is where a schedule can come in handy to stop this from occurring. Create a schedule with the tasks that you want to complete and go out and do them, without your smartphone interfering.
Kanban boards are great ways to track smaller tasks and get a sense of satisfaction when you move them from in progress to complete. You can look at these Kanban board examples to learn more about what this kind of tracking could do for you.
Use a Smart Speaker Instead
A lot of our dependence on smartphones comes from wanting to know the answer to a question. You open up your phone to find out who played the lead in a certain movie, then before you know if you’ve spent two hours on Facebook. Sound familiar?
A smart speaker can be a good alternative for these nagging questions and you won’t get sucked into the small screen. This allows you to learn the answer you’re looking for and go back to what you were doing. Without the temptation of scrolling through all sorts of other pages, you won’t waste as much time.
There are loads of different versions of these smart speakers and they don’t have to be expensive either. You might want to invest in one of these if you feel like they’d make a difference in your life.
Use the Greyscale Mode
This is a really odd trick, but one that seems to work really well for those that want to cut down on their smartphone usage. Turning your smartphone onto greyscale can take some of the appeal of using social media platforms away. You’re not able to see pictures in their full colour, so this means you’re not as enticed by them and you won’t get sucked in!
This is a top tip to limit your smartphone usage, without feeling like you’re really missing out. You can try it out for a few hours to find out if this will have an impact on your browsing time, you might just be surprised by how much it changes your perception!
Turn off your Internet Connection
Let’s be honest, most smartphones are only fun if you’re connected to the internet. If you don’t have a connection, then a lot of the apps and games just can’t be used. Turn off the internet and reduce the amount of distractions that you have at your fingertips.
That means you’re not going to get as many notifications either. Try to do this for set periods and then work on extending those periods. Then, you’ll see your smartphone as more of the functional product it should be, instead of the device for procrastination that it can become.
Try a Detox
Working up to a full phone detox can be scary, but if you take it slowly you will be able to do just that. Start out with hours of the day or certain occasions that you don’t use your phone. This could be when you go out for dinner, or when you’re watching a TV show. Over time, you’ll find that this actually enhances your time with others and at home, as you’re actually paying attention to the task at hand.
From there, you can start to leave your phone in the car or in your purse when you’re not using it. This creates a barrier between you and your phone, if you want to break it then you really have to think about it. As you progress through this detox, you can go for longer periods of time without being tied to your phone.
Be Accountable to Yourself
At the end of the day, you’re the only one that can really assess your smartphone usage. If you think it’s getting out of hand then implement some of these tips. You have to remember to stay accountable to yourself though and not gloss over some periods of using your phone. It’s really easy to pretend you’re not doing so too often, but if you’re not accountable then you’re not going to reduce your usage.
You can also ask others to gently remind you if you spend a long time on your phone. This can be helpful, but in the end the buck stops with you! Whether you keep diaries or use a stopwatch, accurately think about the time you spend using your smartphone.
Smartphones are great inventions that have changed the way we work and communicate. You can have too much of a good thing though, so if you need a break away from yours, follow these tips to free yourself.
