Top Tips to help you manage the time you spend on your phone
Remove unnecessary notifications
Red is a trigger colour that draws your attention which is helpful for useful notifications but lots of apps generate random notifications – these are from machines not real people – bringing you back to your phone over and over when you don’t really need to.
Make your wallpaper black
Simply having a boring wallpaper makes it easier to stay focussed.
Use the greyscale colour filter
Your brain immediately notices the colourful icons every time you unlock your phone drawing your attention away from what you intended to do. Changing your setting to grey scale means your thoughts won’t be unintentionally drawn to them.
Keep your home screen to tools only
Find yourself just staring at your phone… try to keep your first page of apps to just tools, those that you just go quickly in and out of like Maps, Camera and Calendar. Move the rest away from that front page and into folders. .
Access apps by typing rather clicking the icon
Swipe down from the top of your screen and type the name of the app you want to open. This means you have to think about what it is you are doing and takes just enough effort to make you question whether you really need to be using the app or not.
Charge your phone away from your bed
Charge your phone away from your bed or in another room. You’ll be less likely to pick it up first thing and mindlessly start using it. It also means you have to get out of bed to stop your alarm.
Try to avoid your phone for the first 30 – 60 minutes of being awake
Would you let hundreds of people into your bedroom first thing in the morning? By checking your phone straight away they may not be there in person but they are in your mind, meaning you are starting your day already thinking about other peoples thoughts, opinions, wants and needs rather than your own.
Don’t Always Have Your Phone On You
Most of us can’t remember the last time we went out without our phone – phones have definitely become a part of who we are! Identify things you already do where you could leave your phone elsewhere, for example, when you are cleaning, doing exercise, reading, cooking, at a club or doing an activity. Try to make it a habit not to have your phone on you every single moment of the day.
Have Strong Replacement Activities
Have a few replacement activities to fall back on for when your brain is craving distraction so that these become your go to’s rather than scrolling on your phone.
Use blocker apps or settings
There are lots of apps that will help you manage the amount of time you spend on your phone and on certain apps if this is something you want to actively start changing, or simply putting your phone into aeroplane or night mode will create a block on notifications for a period of time.