How To Break The Habit: 11 Tips To Improve Your Relationship With Your Electronics
The ability to track one’s health and fitness with the help of technology has never been easier, but overusing technology can be detrimental to a healthy lifestyle. Hunkering over the screen of a smartphone often results in poor eyesight, improper posture, and can even increase anxiety.
Additionally, our phones are major distractions – recent studies indicate that Americans check their phones 96 times a day, or about once every ten minutes. It does not mean, however, that you must give your phone up for good in order to form a healthy relationship with your phone.
We have put together a short list of ways to prevent doom-scrolling and be more aware of your online activity. If you are looking for ways to break your screen addiction and unplug more often, these ideas should be helpful.
1. Keep track of the amount of time you spend watching screens.
Currently, most phones allow you to track your daily screen time through an easy-to-use feature. Seeing the numbers can be an excellent motivator for taking control of your time and avoiding the habit of wasting time using your phone.
2. Every day, schedule some time for yourself without your phone.
If possible, set aside a designated “phone-free” period when you won’t be using your phone. Keep your phone away from you during this period. Moreover, many phones provide the option of setting your screen time limits, making it easier to control your schedule and regulate your usage.
3. Keep your availability to a minimum.
For phone-free time, for example, as opposed to spending every second worrying about what you’re missing out on, this is crucial. Families, employers, and coworkers should not expect you to be on call 24 hours a day. Getting unplugged a little will help you manage expectations better. Tell the people you care about you’re doing it. You’ll soon learn it’s okay to not reply to all messages immediately.
4. You should avoid looking up everything beforehand.
If you visit a new restaurant without first reading reviews, or if you visit a museum without reading about their collection beforehand, when is the last time you did it? If you don’t feel the urge to search for everything right away, you’ll use your phone a lot less (and you’ll have a little more spontaneity, too! ).
5. Boost your productivity by using an app.
You might think using technology to reduce phone use is counter-intuitive, but there are a number of productivity apps available that will enable you to do just that – whether it’s making a smarter to-do list or setting aside time for one task.
6. Turn off some notifications.
Constantly seeing messages on your phone screen is tempting and can keep us in a loop where we unconsciously scroll through new notifications or become distracted. Turning off notifications from apps you don’t use can help prevent you from mindlessly reaching for your phone.
7. Set ‘Do Not Disturb’ to on.
You should find a ‘Do Not Disturb’ option in your settings. It provides notifications and calls without generating any sounds, which is ideal for times when you would prefer not to be distracted by your phone. It is possible to activate Do Not Disturb manually or to schedule it for whenever you wish. Set it between 30 minutes before bedtime and 15 minutes before your alarm is due to go off.
8. Charge your phone away from your bed.
Are you finding yourself staring at your phone screen during the night when you should be sleeping? Consider moving your charger. Avoid staying up thinking about memes by placing your phone across the room when you are about to go to bed.
Your phone makes a great alarm clock- it will remind you to get up in the morning instead of hitting the snooze button on your nightstand.
9. After breakfast, stay offline.
As an added bonus, you won’t have to scroll through social media before you even get out of bed. If you want to start your day productively, don’t browse before brushing your teeth. Is your motivation heightened? Spend a few minutes meditating before you pick up your phone.
10. Wrap it with a rubber band.
Have you ever found yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram before you realized what you were doing? Rubber bands can be used to secure it. Then there’s a physical barrier that you need to remove before you can use the phone again. You’ll be more mindful with your tech use if you do this!
11. Play the game.
As soon as you sit at the table, stack your phones in the center of the table, especially if you have friends who are also interested in reducing their screen time. Bills are paid by the first person who grabs their phone.
Everyone pays for their own food if no one succumbs to temptation before the meal is finished. The event is a win-win for you; you will be able to meet new friends and have the opportunity to win a free meal at the same time.
Make a commitment in 2021 to adopt healthier online habits and to spend more time doing what you love in real life. Learn how to break your internet addiction so you can utilize technology rather than allowing it to use you.