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Are you concerned about the amount of time you are spending on your phone? From paying bills to buying groceries, today we are using a phone for every second task of our lives. Here are 10 tips on how to stop phone addiction.
Unplugging technology has become necessary in today’s time. We are so mixed up with technology today that it has become difficult for us to separate ourselves from it. This dependency on technology is making us addicted to it. One such thing is phone addiction.
A lot of people today are battling the issue of how to stop phone addiction. Are you one of them? What are the signs of phone addiction?
Signs of Phone Addiction
How to know if you are addicted to your phone? There are some signs that can tell that you are getting addicted to your phone.
The first sign is- You start feeling restless without your phone, when your phone is not in hand or near you start getting uncomfortable. You check your phone every 2 minutes or 20 seconds even if there are no notifications.
People around you are telling you that you should use your phone less because you are always on phone according to them.
You love scrolling your feed, sharing every detail of your life with friends and people on social media. Social media has started affecting your mood, you get affected by seeing other people.
These are some of the signs that you must not ignore. If you are going through these nowadays then you should read the article ahead and understand how you can reduce it and stop phone addiction.
How To Stop Mobile Phone Addiction
1. Disable Notifications
The phone is a serious distraction today. We use so many applications which keep sending us notifications. You keep checking your phone no matter how irrelevant it is at the moment.
Turning off notifications can be a great way to start your phone addiction. Are you worried about any important messages or notifications?
In my opinion, we anyway keep checking emails or other important apps, and turning off notifications will not make a big difference.
You can also go to your settings and turn off notifications of all apps except the important ones. By doing so, you will get less notifications and fewer distractions.
2. Remove Distractions From Home Screen
We keep our most important and most used applications on the home screen. This gives us quick access to them. You can even open them with your eyes closed.
Most of my friends have their socials on their home screens. Even with your eyes closed, you can open these apps, yes or no?
I am sure you are familiar with this experience. Moving these applications to other pages, which are the most of your time-consuming, can help you by limiting your distraction.
When you open your phone, your attention will not go directly to them. It is like shifting your stuff to some other room in your house. You pay less attention to it.
3. Logging Out
Logging in by entering your username and password can be time-consuming. Use this to control your practice of opening your favorite apps again and again.
Do not save your login details on apps you know you are addicted to. In this way, whenever you try to open it again, your brain will stop right away because of the effort-consuming activity.
You don’t have to use it for every app. Use this for only those apps which you think are distracting you and you are getting addicted to it.
4. Take Help Of Time Limiting App
There are many time-setting apps available that can help you manage your time on the phone. Most people use social media or gaming applications the most. They take up a lot of their time in a day.
Set up screen time for those applications which you think you use a lot. It will remind you that you have spent let’s say 15 minutes and should not spend more time on it. I hope you keep your will strong and will not use that app further.
Some of the best applications that I know to Limit app usage are- Digital Wellbeing, AntiSocial, and Moment. These apps will help you from limitless scrolling and wasting hours which could have been used for something productive.
5. Say ‘No’ in The Morning and at Night
We have become so addicted to our phones that it has become the first thing we check post waking up and the last thing we see before sleeping.
Try not to use your phone on the bed in these two time frames. It can engage your brain in not-so-important stuff and will take up your productive time.
Keep your phone away from the bed. If you have the habit of spending your first-morning hour in bed, use an alarm clock instead of your phone alarm.
Make this habit of restricting your phone usage timings and avoiding phone in the mornings and one hour before bed. This will also prevent you from eye strains.
6. Uninstall If Required
Have you realized that using all other ways s to limit your addiction has failed? You are still using that app a lot? Then Uninstall it! Two years ago I was facing the same problem with my social accounts. I was using too much Instagram!
So I decided to uninstall it. Initially, it was difficult but after I overcame it, I realized it was one of the best things I got over.
Now I have social media applications on my phone but I don’t give too much time on them. It doesn’t even matter to me whether I have Instagram on my phone or not.
I forget to check it for days now! I use it when I am bored or for finding some useful stuff related to my blog.
7. Replace Phone with Gadgets
Our phones have become our world. From alarms, reminders to calendars we use our phones for everything.
I feel it is a boon until it we move our fingers to other applications and instead of just setting a reminder on phone, we end up using it for 30 more minutes!
I am sure it must have happened to you at least once. If you want to stay away from your phone then buy gadgets you can use instead of a phone. Yes, live the old style!
For checking the time, wear a watch. Buy a desk calendar for your room and office. You can buy a smartwatch that you can connect with your phone in order to keep up to date with your calls and messages.
In this way, you will not waste time scrolling your phone and this can be really helpful for getting out of phone addiction.
8. Develop New Hobbies
One of the reasons we spend too much time on our phones is we feel we don’t have anything else to do.
At such a time reaching your phone seems to be the easiest. You know that there must be something on your phone that will keep you entertained!
Replace this boredom or free time with some hobbies. You can do something you already love or may develop a new hobby.
You can undertake things that you think you can be interested in, like painting, dancing, learning a new musical instrument, or trying some DIY craft ideas.
9. Set Up Some Boundaries
Our phones are literally everywhere with us! Wherever we go, we do check if we are carrying our phones with us or not. Start establishing some boundaries with your phone.
If you are a student, keep your phone away when you are studying, maybe in your closet or in another room.
Do not check your personal messages often when you are in your office and when at home, keep away the office mails and messages. These boundaries are very important to make your life simpler.
Also, when you are sitting or hanging out with your friends and family, avoid your phone completely. Enjoy the moments and work on building healthier relationships with your people.
10. Observe Life Offline
Can you imagine a life where there is no posting, no sharing, no scrolling, and more living? I started practicing this two years ago and I can say I am happier and enjoy my life offline.
Today research has shown how using social media is making us unhappy, our worth today depends on our popularity! 20 years ago, life was simpler, there was more living.
Ask a few adults about their life experiences and adventures, you will realize how much you are missing out! I realized this and started giving more importance to my offline life and it is indeed better, try it!
Over To You
These were some tips on how to stop phone addiction. Phone addiction can really mess up your life. Apply these tips to overcome phone addiction and make your life simpler. I hope you liked these tips will be helpful to you. Happy living!
