So, you want to reclaim your time and attention by spending less time on your phone. How do you do that when your phone is designed to capture your attention and keep you scrolling?
Life Kit spoke with experts in behavioral science, psychology, and technology for real-world practical advice. The key, they say, is to find effective ways to resist that constant urge to keep picking up your phone.
For some people, the solution can be as simple as practicing self-awareness: Do you really need to look at your phone right now, or do you actually need something else? Others may need a little more help from blockers that limit access to apps and sites.
1. Ask yourself why you’re picking up the phone in the first place
When you want to grab your phone or check Instagram for the hundredth time today, notice how you feel in that moment, says Sammy Nickalls, author of Log Off: Self-Help for the Extremely Online.
“For example, I noticed that whenever I felt bad about myself in some way, I would jump on Twitter,” she says.
So ask yourself: What can I do to deal with what’s really going on? “Most of the time, it’s not scrolling. It’s taking a nap, talking to a friend, or doing something that makes you happy,” she says.
2. Practice “urge surfing”
Having the impulse to grab your phone doesn’t mean you have to act on it.
“Impulses are a lot like waves. They rise, get bigger and bigger, and then they fall again,” says clinical psychologist Diana Hill, coauthor of I Know I Should Exercise But … 44 Reasons We Don’t Move & How to Get Over Them.
In addiction research, the practice of letting the impulse pass without doing anything about it is called “urge surfing,” she says. “The more you do it, the better you get at surfing and the less you feel like you need to give in to the impulse.”
3. Get to the root of the behavior
If you want to break the habit of picking up your phone every few minutes, learn what it takes to form a habit.
“A behavior happens when three things come together at the same moment: motivation to do the behavior, ability to do the behavior, and a trigger or cue to do the behavior,” says BJ Fogg, behavioral scientist at Stanford University who studies habit formation.
“If you eliminate any one of those three things, the behavior stops,” he says.
There are many ways to do this with your phone. “I turn off tons of notifications,” says Fogg. That stops the triggers that remind you to keep checking your phone.
You can also reduce the motivation to use your phone by making it less visually appealing. Put your phone in black and white, or set up a simple home screen with just a list of apps and no images.
4. Keep your phone out of the bedroom
This can reduce phone time by removing the temptation to scroll before bed, in the middle of the night, and when you wake up in the morning.
Plus, this change can help you sleep, says Jean Twenge, psychologist and author of 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-tech World.
Research has shown that just having your phone or computer near the bed—even on airplane mode—can lead to lower-quality sleep, says Twenge. When the device is nearby, it’s easier to pick it up. The content can keep you alert and scrolling. And screen light can affect your circadian rhythm, disrupting your sleep.
5. Make it harder to use your phone
Need an extra barrier between you and your device? Don’t be afraid to seek a little outside help. There are many apps available that introduce delays and reminders not to use your phone. And there are programs that let you temporarily block access to the apps you choose.
“The more friction you introduce into your life, the harder it becomes to use all those services and devices,” says Jose Briones, author of Low Tech Life: A Guide to Mindful Digital Minimalism. “Your brain will say it’s not worth it.”
Source: npr.org