The First 30 Minutes Of Your Day
If you find yourself waking up in the morning reaching to check in with your phone before you even got out of bed, this is a serious problem. The first 30 minutes upon awakening should be dedicated to creating a good start to your day. This means getting out of bed, freshening up, taking 5 minutes to meditate and stretch and preparing a healthy breakfast. Start your day doing healthy, positive things to build your inner fortitude to take on the day ahead.
Get Over Your Fear Of Missing Out
Learn to be okay with potentially missing out on things. Most of the time we check our phones, we realize there was nothing worth checking. Here are some good tips on how to overcome fear of missing out.
We all have the power to be the boss of our lives. Use that power to free yourself from your phone, and enjoy your life more again.
Put Your Phone Away When You Walk In The Door
Christopher Mims writes a weekly technology column for The Wall Street Journala job that certainly requires the use of tech on a consistent basis. His simple and proven way to keep life in healthy balance with his cell phone is to put it in a kitchen cabinet at the end of the workday. In his words, The more you physically remove the phone, the more you can build a habit of having some ability to ignore it when its on your person.
When you finish your day of work, put your phone in a drawer or cabinet. This is a helpful practice for all people, but I think it is especially important if you have kids or a spouse at home in need of our undivided attention.
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Strategy : Time For Flow
In the early 1990s, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term flow to describe the state of full absorption in the task at hand. Flow is the polar opposite of distraction. Its that state we all encounter from time to time where our sense of self and time dissolves, where we get more done in a matter of hours than we might ordinarily accomplish in several days. The research shows that you dont have to be LeBron James or Serena Williams to experience this state. Its available to everyone — no matter your occupation.
But theres a catch. Flow requires space from interruption and distraction. So here are a few tips to create spaces in your day for full engagement:
- Schedule flow blocks on your calendar. Dont just assume theyll happen.
- If possible, work at home, at a coffee shop or in some other environment where you are free from interruptions during these blocks.
- Turn your phone to airplane mode.
- Close your web browser and email program.
Related: How to Find Your Flow and Achieve Greatness
Focus On Your Intrinsic Values
If one of the pillars of addiction to smartphones is materialism, then we have to know how to be less materialistic. In an article titled, How to Let Go of Materialism, a study found that getting people to focus more on their intrinsic values helps them to be less materialistic.
Examples of intrinsic values can include contributing to your community, developing close relationships with family and friends, and self-growth. In the study, participants were encouraged to define whats intrinsically valuable to them, and to make financial decisions based on those values.
As a result of doing these things, the participants became less materialistic and even developed higher self-esteem as a result. One other thing to note from the research was that having social support from others striving to do the same thing was also the key to decreasing materialism.
With decreased materialism, you wont feel the need to have the latest smartphone. You’ll be less obsessed with constantly using the latest apps that are developed.
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Get Rid Of Distracting Apps
Sometimes you just cant resist tapping a colorful icon on the Home screen. This is usually the case for games and social media apps. How can one avoid this temptation? Move all addictive apps to the second page where its harder to open them spontaneously. You can also group such apps in folders like Games or Social so theyre always one extra tap away from you.
My Home screen is a place for work, productivity, and travel
I have no Facebook app on my phone. Instead, I check the newsfeed in Safari. Its less convenient than in the native app so I spent significantly less time there. Plus, the browser tab doesnt bombard me with notifications. After visiting Facebook, I always try to close its tab in Safari, so I have some extra work next time.
I also try to stay away from my phone after posting anything on social media. Its so tempting to check your post every 5 minutes to see how many likes and comments you already have! For this reason, I rarely post things that involve a lengthy discussion. Thats how my laziness to check and answer the comments saves me from snagging my phone too often
Reconnect With Your Smartphone Gradually
To consistently be able to stop looking at your phone, your phone will have to become a tool again instead of a temptation.
Of course, why we use is they do a lot of things wonderfully, James Roberts of Baylor University says. But we over-adopted.
After people break up with their phones, they often slowly reintroduce some apps as long as they are able to use them responsibly. The process can involve some trial and error.
Habits do take a while to form and to break, Roberts says. Dont beat yourself up if you slip. If you spend too much time on a website, thats okay. Go back, reorganize and start again.
Rachel Saslow is a writer based in Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post and Portland Monthly.
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Best Apps To Stop Your Smartphone Addiction
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There could be a number of reasons behind rising smartphone addiction. It may include easy availability of a number of useful apps, social media apps, gaming apps, better camera & video features, easy source of connectivity and a lot more.
In fact, people are more dependent on their digital lives than staying connected with people in real life. This increased smartphone addiction showing lots of side effects like a waste of valuable time on unnecessary apps, social disconnect, health issues and a lot more.
To deal with the issue, we suggest you use smart apps that help you beat your smartphone addiction. These apps keep track of your phone usage and help you reduce unnecessary use of it.
What You Need To Know About Smartphone Addiction
How often do you check your phone? You may be surprised to learn that of the estimated 264 million Americans who own a smartphone, the average person checks their phone 47 times a day, according to a 2017 survey! And for those ages 18 to 24 that number jumps to 86.
Now, lets be honest: Is every interaction on your phone work-related? Or perhaps youre scrolling to check in on others lives on social media? And how much of that is slowing you down on your workload? And how many times do you check your phone when you havent heard it beep for a while? All of these are signs you may need to break your phone addiction.
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A Bit Of Peace And Quiet
At times Im tempted to ban mobile devices for good. As appealing as it is, I know that I never would. I know that mobiles are educational, but you know what? I have a confession to make. Mobile devices also earn us parents a short time of peace and quiet. Why do you think my kids have got into the habit of asking for them on Saturday morning? Precisely because their exhausted parents want them to be quite for a little longer.
Remember when a lie in was exactly that? You could actually sleep until midmorning without a child landing on your head. Times change and now we all snuggle in bed, my husband and I, bleary eyed, sipping coffee whilst our kids battle strange monsters in silent mode.
Letting your kids play with mobile devices and earning a little well earned rest is fine, as long they dont get addicted, as long as we can teach our kids to use mobile phones sensibly, as long as we can find balance between real life and cell phone addiction.
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What Is Teenage Cell Phone Addiction
There is ample research showing how smartphone overuse, especially social media, impacts the brain. In fact, it can cause the same brain chemical responses as a drug. When a teen sees new likes, positive comments, or new followers on their feeds, they receive a burst of dopamine. Similar to a drugs high, as social app use escalates, the more engagement they crave.
The time spent engaging on social feeds will increase more and more as this reward cycle takes hold. The teen may put off other activities they once enjoyed in exchange for spending more time on their phones. Homework is not completed, which affects the teens grades. Sleep is forfeited, which impacts their health in many ways. In person social time is traded off for engaging with strangers on their social media feeds.
All of these adverse effects caused by excess cell phone use can lead to mental health issues. Anxiety can result due to the time wasted on the phone. This causes stress because the teen now lacks time to complete their schoolwork or chores. Too much time online also results in depression, mainly because the teen begins to feel lonely.
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Delete Apps Switch Off Your Phone Or Limit Your Notifications
Delete apps if there is something particular that triggers usage. You could also keep your phone away. You could turn off notifications if deleting is too much. If this makes you very uncomfortable, your phone use most likely indicates shortcomings in your social and personal life. Your physical and psychological needs could be unsatisfied and you may feel powerless in social situations. But those situations are required to fulfill your social needs. So start slow and keep a purpose for your phone use. Spend your energy to satisfy your needs in the material world.
Set Your Goal For Overcoming Cell Phone Addiction
Once you identified why you want to cut down how much time you spend on the phone, you need to figure out what your goal is. It may not be to just stop using your phone. That could almost be impossible since you may use it for work or have to keep in touch with distant family. You may want to cut down the amount of time you spend on your phone or the time of day you scroll through your feed. Either way, identify your goal so you can have it to focus on.
You don’t want to be this addicted to your cell phone, do you?
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Below Are Some Steps To How To Stop Cell Phone Addiction:
Signs Of Cell Phone Addiction
Does your teen repeat any of the following behaviors over and over again? They could be an indicator of cell phone addiction:
- Texting with friends and checking for incoming texts
- Listening to music and watching videos using headphones
- Checking e-mail and social media accounts
- Playing single-player video games and interactive multi-player games
- Worrying about cell phone battery life and access to electrical power.
If you believe smartphone addiction is affecting someone you love, you are not alone. Teen cell phone addiction is a serious issue for the whole family.
A recent poll reveals that 50 percent of teens believe they are addicted to their cell phones.
More than a third of teens try to cut down the amount of time they spend on their mobile devices, but most fail to change.
The symptoms of teen cell phone addiction are contradictory. The teen cant imagine being without the phone, but they also feel its a burden.
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A Different Sort Of Tree House
Starting from scratch might mean just taking a walk in the woods. A tree stump might just be laying around begging for a second life as a mouse dollhouse. This house by Maddie Brindley can be found complete with instructions at Mads Mouse House on WordPress with more information about the craftsman.
Considering Alternatives To Using Your Cell Phone
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S To Breaking Smartphone Addiction
I descended into the subway toward the metallic tube that would rush me across the city in the dark underground. A man was having a phone call, lingering halfway down the stairs, not yet ready to cut the umbilical cord with the unseen radio tower that connected him to the Matrix.
This would be no problem except that dozens of rushed commuters were piling up behind him like water in a kinked hose.
A minute later on the platform, the subway doors opened and another unconscious automaton, without raising an eyebrow, shifted his heaving bulk juuuust inside the train doors, deeply engrossed in an epic battle of man versus candy.
His glacial pace nearly caused a mother and child behind him to get caught in the ruthless jaws of the closing doors.
Hey man, I said. Your Candy Crush session is going to get us all killed.
He roused his glazed eyes to meet my face, looking confused, before returning to the cold glow of his colorful puzzles without saying a word.
If this is not an addiction, Im not sure what is.
But, Mike, youre starting to sound like a cranky old man
Yes, and Ill make a passing reference to the virtues of cellphones, but Im not done scaring you yet. You see, I too, have a problem: I cant remember the last time I went #2 without my cell phone.
Try Productivity Apps To Help You Have Self
Just as there are apps for getting car rides and renting rooms, there are apps thatll help you have self-control too. Here are few you might like:
- Flipd It uses a lock screen thats on a timer to help you not use distracting apps.
- Forest You earn credits not using your phone and get a chance to plant real trees with them.
- Offtime It shuts down everything except important contacts youve white listed.
- Appdetox It locks your apps and also reminds to take a break from them.
- Space You can set phone use goals and track your progress
- Freedom Block all websites and apps while you work
- Moment Similar to Fitbit, it tracks the amount of time you use your phone and helps you create daily limits
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