Whoever I know complains about not having time to get everything done. We all have 24 hours per day to use, so how some people make more of it than the others? Maybe if you are constantly running out of time, the little device in your pocket is the first thing to be blamed?
This requires a mindset shift, though, as using our phone all the time has become such an ingrained habit that some compare it to the signs of addiction. What’s more, it has mental health risks that we might not be aware of.
The following article lists 12 mind hacks that will help you achieve exactly that – leave your phone aside and instead go be productive and have fun in real life. Let’s see what these are:
1. See where you’re Spending the Most Time on your Phone
Use apps to monitor what you’re doing on your phone and for how long. See which sites or apps are the biggest distractions for you.
Seeing the big picture of how many minutes you spend on them daily will open your eyes to the control your phone has over your brain and actions.
2. Declutter your Phone
There are many forms of decluttering. One includes removing things you don’t need from your mobile. So do that with one social media network today.
3. Don’t Keep Wifi on all day
Most often, mobile data or wifi are always on. But what if you turned these off and only used them when you are about to be spending 10 minutes on social media or want to browse some stuff online?
Try this simple trick and see how it limits your phone use in just a day or two.
4. Bring a Book with you
Whenever you find yourself outside with nothing else to do and feel like you want to check your phone, have a book with you and take it out.
Often, we simply don’t have an alternative. But this can even turn into a habit. Not to mention you’ll soon start experiencing the many benefits of reading.
5. Decide to Work out without Using your Phone
You can use it for music if that pumps you up, but leave anything else for later. So turn the Internet off until you’re done with exercising.
Keep in mind that concentrating more on each exercise leads to building muscles faster and getting in a good shape sooner. Many people end up using their phones in the gym more than they actually train.
6. Hack your Environment
Another mind hack would be to make changes to your environment so it’s not that mobile-friendly.
That might mean telling people close to you you’re working on building the habit of using your phone less, so they should respect that. Additionally, stop downloading apps for any single thing such as a to-do list, finance tracking, yoga, shopping, camera filters, etc. The more you do that, the more you start relying on your phone for every single thing.
What’s more, people often install new tools and apps when they are determined to start a new habit or learn a skill. But they don’t stay consistent and don’t use the app. It stays on the phone, though, and keeps reminding them to use it.
So that’s how phone addiction begins and can turn into something scary if we don’t take control as soon as possible. Give the 12 mind hacks above a try (one by one) and you’ll be free from social media and your phone pretty soon.
