Summary

The article outlines five strategies to reduce smartphone addiction and establish a healthier relationship with the device, ultimately reducing screen time from three hours to less than one hour daily.

Abstract

The author of the article shares personal experiences of overcoming smartphone addiction by implementing five key steps. Initially, the author realized that excessive phone usage was causing anxiety and reducing productivity. By tracking phone usage, the author became aware of the time spent on social media and other non-essential activities. The second step involved disabling almost all notifications to minimize distractions and interruptions, except for essential communication apps. The third step was keeping the phone silent, except for calls, to avoid being interrupted by every incoming message or email. The fourth strategy was to hide distracting apps from the home screen, making it more difficult to access them mindlessly. Finally, the author suggests using an app blocker to restrict access to social media during work hours, thereby reclaiming time for more productive or enjoyable activities. These measures collectively helped the author significantly reduce screen time and foster a more intentional and less distracted lifestyle.

Opinions

The author believes that smartphones can become a source of anxiety and distraction rather than convenience and joy.
Tracking phone usage is seen as a critical step in becoming conscious of how much time is spent on the device.
Notifications are viewed as significant disruptors of focus and productivity, and minimizing them is crucial for maintaining a state of flow.
The author emphasizes the importance of being intentional with phone usage by keeping it silent and hiding distracting apps, thereby reducing the temptation to engage with them frequently.
Using an app blocker is recommended as an effective method to enforce self-imposed limits on social media consumption during work hours.
The author values the reclaimed time from reduced phone usage, which can be spent on more meaningful activities or tasks that contribute to personal and professional growth.

5 Easy Steps To Break The Addiction And Build A Healthy Relationship With Your Phone

You own your phone, not the other way around.

Smartphones solve a lot of problems until they become one.

You check the maps, google stuff in a single tap, reply to emails and make plans, all in one device. But having a universal problem-solver in your hands turns into an addiction fast. You pull your phone riding the bus, walking, or in a meeting. You reply to emails at 10 pm. You glue yourself on the couch and spend hours scrolling and swiping.

At least, this was my case.

What was supposed to bring me joy and make my life easy turned into anxiety and distraction.

As anxiety spiked up and productivity tailed off, I knew there was a problem to tackle. I educated myself and found solutions along the way. I became aware of how my phone was making me feel. In one year, I build a healthy relationship with my phone, dropping my screen time from three to less than an hour. The time spent swiping the phone turned into a flow state that got things done.

Here are five things that helped me build a healthy relationship with my phone.

1. Track the time you spend on your phone

I was busy working (someday up to 12 hours) though I was doing so little. I felt like my time was leaking. I felt lost every time it was seven p.m., and I didn’t finish the presentation. Curious to know where my time was going, I installed a time tracker on my phone.

Seeing the statistics on how much I used my phone was horror itself.

Three out of 24 hours a day, I was on my phone, mainly flipping between social media. They were the message replies on Instagram turned into 20 minutes scrolls. An afternoon Twitter check turned into 30 minutes doom scroll and on and on.

Having a time tracker helped me be conscious of how I use my phone. Now I always check the time before tapping a social media app. When I find myself mindlessly scrolling 20 minutes in, I press the home button.

My time is precious, and my phone is not getting all of it.

2. Turn off (almost) all phone notifications

Notifications are the killers of flow and kings of distractions. A buzz from Facebook reminding you whose birthday is today, or the trending new deals on Amazon, or pin recommendations from Pinterest, turns your attention to the rectangle device in an instant. In the middle of a sentence or not, you must know what that buzz was.

I got so tired of all that distraction. Plus, seeing a notification bar full was too much clutter for my brain. So I decided to give my mind some peace and turned off all notifications on my phone, except for certain messaging apps, calls, and email. Less buzzing meant less distraction, and less distraction meant more work.

And, I never missed a thing that required my immediate attention.

3. Keep the phone silent except for calls

Just because I received an email doesn’t mean I have to stop chopping vegetables and check it. But I did because the buzzer always intrigues me what is at the other end.

Part two of my notification detox was deciding to leave my phone on silent except for calls. It was the second layer of protection from the distraction my phone blows me.

4. Hide distracting apps from the home screen

I adopted this from James Clear, who emphasizes the power of environment design in creating or breaking a habit. He suggests that to break a bad habit, adding extra steps makes it harder to perform.

I hid all distracting apps in a folder on the third page of my home screen. This way, it would take me two swipes and two taps to check Facebook. An extra second to think if I want to check Twitter made me more mindful of how I spent my time.

5. Download an app blocker for distracting apps

Though I started to be conscious of how I use my phone, I still had the urge to check it. I decided to download an app blocker and block social media during workdays from 8:00–20:00. This way, I forced myself to check social media only when my day is close to an end. It was an immeasurable win for me.

I gained back my time.

I killed the largest source of procrastination.

I started using my free time to do things I enjoy.

I broke the habit of mindlessly checking the phone.

To recap

If you want to join me and build a healthy relationship with your phone, do this:

Track the time you spend on your phone
Turn off (almost) all phone notifications
Keep the phone silent except for calls
Hide distracting apps from the home screen
Download an app blocker for distracting apps