10 Ways To Avoid You Getting Addicted To

Your Smartphone

From keeping in touch with friends, doing your banking, to work and watching cat videos,
our smartphones have become part of everyday life. However, while they make it easier for
us to do so many things, there are also dangers with smartphones. Instead of a tool that is
used to help us, they can become an obsession, to the extent that some can become addicted
to using their smartphones.

That kind of addiction can cause severe problems and in extreme cases, ultimately impacting
your life very seriously. So, to avoid falling into that trap, here are 10 ways to ensure that
your smartphone stays as the gadget you love, not the monster ruling your life.
10. Start wearing a watch

This may sound like an odd one, but just think about how you actually use your smartphone.
How many times have you just needed to know the time, picked up your phone to find out,
and 10 minutes later you are still there looking at your Facebook feed?

Having a watch stops that initial need for the phone, removing the temptation to start looking
at other things too.

9. Monitor how much you use your phone

Knowing if you are beginning to use your phone too much and potentially have a problem
starts with understanding exactly how much time you do spend on the phone every day. Both
Apple and Android have built in tools for monitoring usage statistics, although the Apple
version is more intuitive.

The average user spends close to three hours a day looking at or interacting with their phones
every day, and they check it 58 times per day. If you find your usage is getting a long way
above that, you may have an issue. Being aware of the problem helps you take action though.

8. Sort your Notifications

Notifications are a good place to start when trimming down your smartphone usage, because
while you may get a notification of a like on twitter, checking it inevitably leads to doing
something else on the phone. Essentially, they are a gateway to increased phone usage.
Notifications take you away from your work, conversation or whatever is going on, forcing
you to focus on the subject, then you have to refocus back onto your work or whatever
afterwards. That takes time, with every notification. Look at all the notifications you get, if
you are getting hundreds every day, then your brain will have trouble focusing and refocusing
as you deal with them, and that can lead to an impact on your overall concentration and
mental performance.

Restrict the apps that can send notifications to a bare minimum. Ideally, stop all notifications,
but for many that is impractical, so think carefully. Do you really need to know the second
someone likes your Twitter post?

7. Don’t feel that you must respond to every notification

instantly

Remember, the phone is a tool, not your master. Just because you get a notification, it doesn’t
mean you have to pick the phone up, check it and respond right there and then. Wait until you
are free and deal with any notifications that have come in all at the same time, it reduces the
total time spent on the phone and allows you to keep focus on the important stuff.

6. Avoid the easy option

One of the reasons we all use our phones so much is that everything becomes easier. If you
are watching TV and see an actor, but can’t remember what they were in before, just can just
grab your phone and google them. Instead, have a think, try and remember by yourself. It
may take a little longer, but it will come to you, no phone, and helps keep your memory sharp
too!
5. Set times for phone activities

If you have reduced the number of notifications and so on, you are probably using the phone
less during the day already, but another thing you can do to save time and take back control is
to restrict your phone time further. Pick a time each day, maybe once over breakfast and once
in the evening, where you go through notifications, emails, messages and so on and respond
to everything at once.

This is a much more efficient way to use the phone, you will be surprised that even with
multiple things to look at and deal with, you get them all done in a few minutes. Yet
responding individually would have taken a few minutes each. This keeps you focused on
tasks during the day and stops the reliance on the phone and the time wasting it encourages.

4. Use an alarm clock

This is another trick to help you break the smartphone habit. If you start the day with an
alarm from your phone, what is the first thing you do? Turn off the alarm, and start looking at
notifications, messages and everything else. If you start the day that way, you are more likely
to keep going back to your phone the rest of the day too.
3. Pay attention to those around you

If you are out with friends or a loved one, put your phone down! There is nothing worse than
trying to have a conversation with someone who is constantly looking at their phone and not
really paying attention. Don’t be that person, pay attention to the people you are actually with
rather than the digital messages, keep the phone out of sight, in a pocket or bag and be there
for the people in your life.

2. Go Greyscale
To make your phone less appealing, turn on the grayscale filter. Its there for both Android
and iOS, and while it won’t stop you using the phone, it does reduce the appeal. This one is
especially useful if you lose hours to Instagram or Pinterest, as without color they become
less interesting to look at.
1. Think about it

Finally, think about why you are using the phone every time you pick it up. All the options
described can help you to lower your phone usage, but ultimately it is down to you to make
the choice., Every time you reach for the phone, think, do I really need to do that right now?
Have I got something more important to do? Do I even need to use the phone for this?

Conclusion
‘I couldn’t live without my phone’ is a saying most of us have heard, many of you have
probably said it, but the truth is that we can all live with using it less, and probably should as
well. With a few small steps and some willpower, you can reduce your reliance on the
smartphone, take back control of your own life, and avoid the mess that smartphone addiction
can bring.