This week on The DayBreak Blog, we’re sharing some news based on what we are seeing in the current marketplace.
It’s no secret that cell phones have taken over our lives. In fact, they are designed to get you addicted to them. Whether it’s the cell phone manufacturers themselves, app developers or constant push notifications luring you back to your device, it’s clear that many of us are falling right into place and spending more time than ever on our phones.
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So just how bad is it? Did you know that the average American checks their phone almost 150 times and spends close to 4.5 hours on their devices each day? The numbers are startling and according to a recent survey, more than half of respondents consider themselves addicted to the device.
So what are we to do? Are we supposed to just throw our hands up and accept that we are now slaves to our phones for the foreseeable future? The answer is no, we can fight back! There are many different ways we can make our device less appealing so we spend more time in the real world and less time scrolling aimlessly on our phones.
According to FastCompany.com, here are 7 strategies to reduce your phone’s temptation:
- Take a look at your phone screen time. This is a great starting point to see your base level of where you’re at in terms of how much time you spend on your phone. Once you have a handle of how much time your spending and what apps are putting the biggest dent in your time, you can begin making adjustments.
- Turn off notifications. This is a great strategy to lessen the control your phone has over you. App developers are smart and have done tons of market research on how they can get the end users to spend the most time possible on their app. One of the biggest way they achieve this is by pinging you with consistent notifications that will lure you back. By shutting off the notifications, you’ve now eliminated a key way that app developers keep you engaged on your device.
- Change up your home screen. If you make your device more generic, it will be less appealing. Instead of a background photo of a recent vacation or family photo, consider just making a plain black background. Another strategy is to change your phone settings so that everything is displayed in black and white instead of color.
- Get rid of some apps. You may way to consider deleting the apps that are eating up the most of your time. You can still access these apps on a computer, but the idea is to get you off your phone and acting in a more intentional manner.
- Be intentional with how you use your device. There’s really nothing wrong with using our devices for specific purposes to help us in our day, but the key here is being intentional. Use the features of your device that can help you achieve this, such as the ‘do not disturb’ function when you are trying to focus and concentrate on something. You can also schedule in time that you can freely use your device and its apps as much as you want in that allotted time.
- Make not using your phone a game. The same way that apps gamify their product by offering achievements and awards, make a game out of not using your phone. Set out a block of time to not use your phone, and if you achieve the goal, give yourself a predetermined reward.
- Give your phone a home. If you think to the early days of the internet and personal home computers, the internet had a physical location. Once you left the computer, you left the online environment. Try to implement this idea by giving your cell phone a physical “home” location. Dedicate a certain area of your home as the location of where your device lives. When you need/want to use your device, go to that spot and use it. When you’re done, put it back down in that same spot and continue on about your day.
For more details and to read the full article from FastCompany.com, click the link below!