It is all too easy to become addicted to our cellphones, but this does not have to be the case. If you wish to stop the cycle of addiction, you must take control of your smartphone habits. As much as we love our phones, spending too much time on them might lead to us checking emails first thing in the morning and scrolling through Facebook at night or before even getting out of bed. It’s tough to argue that this is anything other than a miserable way of life.
There were a few apps that could assist us regulate our smartphone usage in the past. There are a plethora of applications available today, many claiming to be the best tool for saving time and coping with our digital overload. While some of these applications promise to operate directly with your browser (or browser extension) to block websites and allow you to navigate the web without distractions and/or tracking malware. If you wish to utilise one of these applications for digital detox, here are some tips for how long you should use it for:
Remove all of your Chrome and Firefox addons. I know this is what most popular applications recommend, but when you’re attempting to break a habit, you have to start small. The final step is to eliminate extensions that can already be done manually.
Social networking and entertainment applications are examples of this. You’re going to have a hard time avoiding temptation if it’s there in front of your face every day at 5 p.m. It’s especially difficult when you’re in a hurry and trying not to miss the bus. Delete, or at the very least conceal, your browser tabs on your computer (s). This is a simple one, but I’m sure everyone has had the experience of attempting to do an assignment/paper/homework while having Chrome open with Netflix or Facebook open in a tab, leading them down a perilous path of procrastination. Not to mention all of the YouTube videos, which wastes hours.
Remove social networking applications from your phone and remove them from the home screen. When you’re bored and in bed, browsing through 90% of emptiness on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll be tempted. Bring your phone into the bathroom with you, at least not at first. It’s difficult to go 30 minutes without checking your phone for messages or social media updates at first. If you do decide to bring your phone inside the toilet stall, make sure it is in aeroplane mode so you are not tempted by alerts during that tough initial period of time.
Attempt to keep a digital journal. Find a means to keep track of how much time you spend using your phone every day or week. You may even use an app like Momentum or Timely to measure how much time you spend on your phone. Once you start watching the numbers rise each week, attempt to maintain as much of a record of them as you can for your personal benefit and responsibility.
Once you start watching the numbers rise each week, attempt to maintain as much of a record of them as you can for your personal benefit and responsibility. Set a time restriction for yourself to be away from your phone. For example, if you want to go to bed at 11 p.m., turn off your phone at least one hour earlier.
If you’re anything like me, you may benefit from some digital detoxification. Perhaps you are one of those superhumans who can and/or do multitasking successfully. Whatever your situation is, I believe it is vital for all of us to take a step back every now and again and consider how much time we spend each day on our phones or gadgets. We don’t want them to take over our lives, but we also want to strike a good balance so that we don’t grow more distant from the people in our life.
#Digital #Detox #Control #Smartphone