You Don’t Need A Reward To Join The Productive Club Do You
Maxim Dsouza has spent over a decade experimenting and finding various time management techniques to improve his productivity. He strongly understands the fact that time is a limited commodity and tries to make every second count. He has extensive experience in leadership in startups, small businesses, and large corporations.
He has helped people of different professions and age groups gain clarity on their goals, improve focus, revise their time management skills and develop an awareness of their psychological cognitive biases.
Set An Annoyingly Long Screen Lock Password
Most people with a Smartphone addiction have shorter passwords that are easy to remember. Instead set one with at least 10-12 characters in upper/lower case, numbers and special characters etc. This will make it harder for you to not only remember it but will be might painful to enter it each time. Also set a lock to your phone screen for every few minutes of inactivity. This will deter you from checking the phone umpteen times in an hour.
Identify Whether Your Phone Use Is Unhealthy
Smartphone addiction is complicated, says Carter, because a lot of psychologists and scientists disagree on whether it’s a real thing. A lot of this, he adds, is because some researchers psychologists funded by apps, for example have a vested interest. Instead, we need to look at what addiction means and whether it applies to how we use our phones.
We have to ask ‘What would addiction look like if they were addicted to their phones?’ says Carter. It would be things like: having an intense desire to use the device, using it more over time, you’d have a withdrawal problem when it was away from you. How do you feel when your battery gets to about 2 percent? The same is true of an alcoholic if you go to their house, it’s filled with booze.
The ultimate one, of course, is: continued use despite harm. Why would anyone continue to use something that is harmful? What we found from our study is that, in the adult population, a lot of them are ticking a lot of these domains.
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Here Are Some Symptoms Of Smartphone Addiction
1. You text walk
Text walking is when you walk while typing or reading a text message.
Do you bump into poles or walls when you walk typing a text message? If you do and still deny your addiction, it is similar to denying being addicted to smoking after smoking a pack a day.
If you feel the necessity to check your messages even while you walk, you use your smartphone way too much.
2. You miss parts of the conversation
Do you miss some parts of the conversation with the person right in front of you because your eyes and attention were on the phone? Do you remember saying to an annoyed person, Sorry, I did not catch that, after replying to a text message?
As human beings, you or I cannot focus our attention on two different conversations. Our brain cannot pay heed to one conversation in person and the other over text at the same time.
Ignoring what the other person has to say because you are tempted to check your phone is a sign of disrespect too.
3. Scrolling news feed
How often do you scroll through the newsfeed on Instagram or Facebook? You might say, I check it once in a while because I am bored.
But watch yourself more closely. Do you pick your phone to browse through social media between a task? Many people do but do not realize or admit the constant phone checks.
4. Searching for your phone for no reason
If you are looking for your phone to kill because you feel uncomfortable without it and you do so often, you must watch out.
5. Re-reading texts
Analyze How You Use Your Phone And Set Limits
With iOS 12, Apple has introduced the Screen Time feature which shows how much time you spend on your phone, what apps you use the most, and how often do you pick up your device. To see the report, go to Settings > Screen Time. Android users can try Digital Wellbeing which works similarly.
If particular apps take too much of your time, you can set daily limits for them. When you reach a limit, your iPhone notifies you about it. Though the limit isnt hard to ignore, it creates an additional barrier between you and the apps you use too much.
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Turn Off Notifications From Unnecessary Apps
Unless you need to communicate with friends, family or co-workers in real-time, you should turn off notifications from unnecessary applications. Every app wants to get your attention and it often does that by sending you notifications repeatedly. There are games that send notifications to get you to spend money while social media apps send you updates about people which you can always check out later. You may even delete social media apps from your phone altogether and only check updates from your laptop/desktop. The constant updates from your distant friends and family can be very distracting and eventually get you scrolling for even more content.
Reduce Or Eliminate Notifications
Notifications are the main reason people get addicted to their phones, since they are incredibly dopamine-inducing.
I personally turned off notifications across all my devices everyone in my life knows to call me if something is truly urgent and I use Vertical Planning to schedule multiple 30-minute time slots each day for checking every communication app on my phone.
The best part about Vertical Planning is that it gives me a limited timeframe to use these communication apps when the stop time rolls around, I know theres another task or activity awaiting my time and attention, which makes it easier to move on .
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Turn Off Notifications For All Apps
I dont like being trained like a dog to pick up my phone each time it goes off, so any time I download a new app I make sure to turn off any sound or vibration it will make. Ive disabled all push notifications for apps like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, and Instagram.
Dont worry, you wont miss anything important. If you think you will, its just the FOMO talking.
If that seems too extreme and you want to take smaller steps instead, you could turn off notifications for the most bothersome apps. Facebook, Whatsapp, and Messenger, for example, generate a lot of activity on your phone. Quieting those down, maybe along with your email, will make a huge difference.
Put Your Phone In Another Room Before You Sleep
According to Carter’s research, it’s not just using your phone late at night which can affect your sleep, but even having it nearby. If you put a group of people into those who didn’t use their device in the bedroom those that used their device in the bedroom and those that had it in the bedroom but didn’t use it, all of those who took their device into the bedroom suffered poor sleep quality, quantity and had increased daytime sleepiness, he says. If you want better sleep, then, put your phone outside the bedroom in the evening. Out of sight, out of mind.
Similar strategies can apply when going out for dinner with friends and you feel yourself itching to check your phone. Ideas that have been suggested are putting all your phones together called ‘phone stacking’ when you go to a restaurant. The evidence for that is unclear, but there are a variety of ways which you could try to cut down your usage.
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Turn Off As Many Push Notifications As Possible
You don’t have to be interrupted by every “like” that your latest Instagram picture receives or with the message that your favorite podcast just released a new episode.
An incredibly simple way to cut down on distractions is to turn off push notifications for as many apps as you can. Just head to Settings > Notifications to control your preferences. Personally, I only left notifications on for email, chat app messages, my calendars, and utility apps such as Lyft or GetAround, which only activate when I’m using them.
Make The Start And The End Of The Day Smartphone
What do you do right after waking up or right after washing your face? Do you check your phone? If yes, you are not the only one, and youre also not the only one who should stop this bad habit.
If checking your phone is the first thing you do in the morning, you are already off schedule. Why?
Because during the first hour after waking up, our brain is extremely sensitive to things happening around us. This shouldnt be surprising: we all know how loud and annoying everything sounds to us when weve just woken up.
Now, if the first things you put into your brain in the morning are news, emails, and social media, you will get overwhelmed and ruin the momentum for the rest of the day.
You should also stop using your smartphone one hour before bedtime. The main reason for this is the blue light that all electronic devices emit and that ruins the quality of your sleep.
Not just that. When people use their phones right before going to bed , they tend to stay up for much longer than expected, usually reading or watching useless things online.
10 PM: Im going to sleep after checking really quickly what my uncles friends brothers cousin did today.
A few moments later
2 AM:This video of a hydraulic press crushing things is so satisfying!
If you really want to quit or avoid smartphone addiction, make sure you stop checking your phone before bed and right after waking up.
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Detaching From Our Screens And Connecting To The Present
This years International Screen-Free Week has already gone by. But you dont have to wait until next year to put some of these strategies into practice so you can spend less time staring at screens and more time enjoying the present.
Start by applying just one single strategy. Pick whichever one seems simplest to you, just make sure you do it consistently.
Youll see results in no time at all.
Its time to detach from your phone and reconnect with your life.
Let me know what single strategy youll be applying and how.
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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Put Your Phone Aside One Day Of The Week
A common way people limit their cell phone use is picking one day a week to put their phone away for the day. Choose a day where you wont be needing it for work, school, or other tasks.
Be sure to let your family and friends know youre doing this. You can give them an alternative way to reach you in case of emergencies.
Set Aside A Fixed Time Daily To Use The Phone
If you truly wish to avoid using your phone too much, you should make a pact with yourself. Say firmly to yourself that you will use your phone only at certain times of the day, whether it is for gaming, checking texts or social media etc. Adhere to those set timings strictly. You can even give your phone to a trustworthy friend/colleague or parent and ask them to hide it from you at other times. This is an easy way to stop using your phone while studying.
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Make Changes To Your Notifications
Notifications are one of the most annoying distractions that might cause addiction. You finish your work and wish to keep your phone away, but, the notification pings start coming in. This leads to doom scrolling, endless tweets, and more. If you can control your notifications, your smartphone addiction can be minimized to an extent.
The best way to do so is to shut off or mute notifications for all distracting apps, such as youtube, social media applications and even messaging apps. Keep just the most important apps for notifications, so that you do not miss out on important stuff.
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In The Blacksmiths House
Being a computer geek myself and, on top of that, the founder of a social media website, I know the problem from the inside.
Apart from having been addicted to consuming information, Ive been an addict of those damn notificationsof looking at my email every five minutes, of going on Facebook just to kill time, of looking at my phone when Im stopped at a red light, and goodness gracious Ive even committed the sin of reaching for my phone in the presence of other human beings when I feel the slightest twinge of boredom . Even worse, there are moments of the day when its easy for me to hide myself in my smartphone rather than be present with Noah, my one-and-a-half-year-old son.
But what worries me most is that if I have succumbed to the permanent connection syndrome, to the insanity of Pavlovian responses to every social media notification, to the crippling fear of being out of the loop for even a second then what is it doing to the new generation?
The other day, my wife was telling me that she was at the park with Noah and a group of kids around 6 years of age were talking about how many followers each of them has on their Youtube channel.
And Im not the only one whos concerned.
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple and the creator of so many of those devices that weve become addicted to, didnt let his children use iPads in the house.
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Set Aside One Day/week
This is, by far, the most common approach I see among people who have taken intentional steps to curb their cell phone habit nowadays. But I credit Tammy Strobel for being the first person I heard talk about italmost ten years ago. Choose one day each week and set your phone aside. Thats it, make a habit of it.
How To Beat Your Post
It’s time for a digital detox.
Many of us spend more time than we’d like staring at screens, but over the last year, logging off has been harder than ever. A survey by Statista found that 46% of respondents were spending more time on their phones since the beginning of lockdown.Whether it was checking the news regularly, scrolling through social media or keeping up with endless Whatsapp chats, our phones were the closest thing we had to the outside world and each other.
Now that most coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, it might be time for the digital detox that you’ve been craving. But after months of our devices being glued to our hands, you might be struggling to let go.
Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at Mind, says: ‘We know media coverage and social media discussions may play a part in heightening concern about coronavirus and some people may find the news difficult to cope with. Its vital to look after our wellbeing and if you are finding how much you use your phone overwhelming, taking a break or limiting when or how you use it may help with this’.
Here are our top tips for spending less time on your phone.
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Treatment For Smartphone And Internet Addiction
If you need more help to curb your smartphone or Internet use, there are now specialist treatment centers that offer digital detox programs to help you disconnect from digital media. Individual and group therapy can also give you a tremendous boost in controlling your technology use.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy provides step-by-step ways to stop compulsive behaviors and change your perceptions about your smartphone and the Internet. Therapy can also help you learn healthier ways of coping with uncomfortable emotionssuch as stress, anxiety, or depressionthat may be fueling your smartphone use.
If excessive use of Internet pornography or online affairs is affecting your relationship, counseling can help you work through these challenging issues and reconnect with your partner.
Group support. Organizations such as Internet Tech Addiction Anonymous and On-Line Gamers Anonymous offer online support and face-to-face meetings to curb excessive technology use. Of course, you need real-life people to benefit fully from any addiction support group. Online support groups can be helpful in finding sources of assistance, but its easy to use them as an excuse to spend even more time on your smartphone. Sex Addicts Anonymous can be a place to try if youre having trouble with cybersex addiction.
Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone And Unbroke My Brain
My name is Kevin, and I have a phone problem.
And if youre anything like me and the statistics suggest you probably are, at least where smartphones are concerned you have one, too.
I dont love referring to what we have as an addiction. That seems too sterile and clinical to describe whats happening to our brains in the smartphone era. Unlike alcohol or opioids, phones arent an addictive substance so much as a species-level environmental shock. We might someday evolve the correct biological hardware to live in harmony with portable supercomputers that satisfy our every need and connect us to infinite amounts of stimulation. But for most of us, it hasnt happened yet.
Ive been a heavy phone user for my entire adult life. But sometime last year, I crossed the invisible line into problem territory. My symptoms were all the typical ones: I found myself incapable of reading books, watching full-length movies or having long uninterrupted conversations. Social media made me angry and anxious, and even the digital spaces I once found soothing werent helping. I tried various tricks to curb my usage, like deleting Twitter every weekend, turning my screen grayscale and installing app-blockers. But I always relapsed.
Eventually, in late December, I decided that enough was enough. I called Catherine Price, a science journalist and the author of How to Break Up With Your Phone, a 30-day guide to eliminating bad phone habits. And I begged her for help.
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