How to stop your phone taking over your life
Ever find yourself endlessly scrolling through the same 3 apps every day, refreshing every 5 minutes in the hopes you’ll find something new? We may be able to help you and your phone have a healthier relationship.
In today’s society it’s easy for our lives to revolve around looking at the little rectangular screen we have sat snugly in our pockets, with the urge to ‘just check the time’ overwhelming us, when we know secretly only 2 minutes have passed. If you’ve become tired of this constant routine, have a read of our top tips to try and break away from your mobile phone bad habits.
Find out how much time you spend on your phone
Downloading an app that tells you how much you spend looking at your screen could be a real eye-opener. The depressing reality could shock you into making some changes in your life! As of August 2018, it was revealed people are online for an average of 24 hours a week. That’s one whole day wasted!
Manage your social media time
If the thought of deleting your favourite social media platforms makes you shudder, logging out at certain parts of the day so you’re not getting any notifications leaves you no excuse to stop picking the phone up. Let’s say you get home from your studies and your first instinct is to check the latest news on which Love Island star has kissed who, logging out of your apps for a couple of hours will give you time to concentrate on things that can make you feel productive! Whether that’s tackling the washing up, catching up on coursework or even just enjoying a new Netflix show, you could really benefit from having some phone-free time. An even better time to log out is a couple of hours before you go to bed, studies have shown that not looking at your phone before sleep can lead to a more peaceful night’s rest!
Try a new hobby
A new hobby doesn’t have to mean joining the Mountaineering Society (although you totally could), it could mean anything as small as painting or colouring in. With arts and crafts proving to reduce stress, prevent negative thoughts and help you be more mindful, there’s plenty of reasons to pick up a paintbrush or coloured pencil instead of the phone.
Get your friends to help you
If taking a break from your phone solo mode is proving difficult, get your friends to help make a pact with you. This also gives you more opportunity to all hang out together and try new activities! The last thing you’ll be thinking about is checking your notifications when you’re having a good time with your mates. Plus you can all motivate each other and help you fight the impulse to start scrolling.
Remember why you want a break from your phone in the first place!
When it seems like the task of cutting down on your phone is proving to be too difficult, just think about why you want to do it and what you could be doing instead! Set a goal of what you can accomplish and instead of looking at pictrues of people doing amazing things, go and become that person!
