Perhaps you’ve spent far too much time on your devices, and you’ve wasted the entire day away before you even know it. This is a common occurrence for many. It’s incredibly easy to keep scrolling and scrolling thanks to how easy new content is shoved into our faces. Here are five ways to take initiative for yourself and set the phone down.
1 TRY OUT NEW HOBBIES
Many of us probably rot in our beds all day long, thumb swiping as we doom scroll through our For You pages and feeds.
A good way to step away from this behavior is to engage in a new activity.
Try out new hobbies, whether it be cooking, a sport, or drawing. Do whatever you want. As long as it doesn’t require excessive phone usage, it should be an excellent way to stay away from the screens.
Not only will finding a new hobby help reduce your screen time, you might find yourself invested in a new passion and interest that you didn’t know about before.
2 LIMIT YOUR SCREENTIME
Enforcing limitations on the apps you use too often can be a difficult thing to stick to. It’s easy to press ignore on the warning screen that pops up when you’ve exhausted your daily usage of an app.
But what’s more important is that you see that warning and are aware that you’ve spent too much time on that app. Use your phone’s built-in features or download an app that allows you to track and limit your screen time. Actually seeing how long you spend on certain apps will give you a reality check.
Setting app limits can seem inherently annoying and even frustrating, but in the end it helps you be more mindful of the time you spend on your phone and how you spend it.
3 GET SOME FRESH AIR
Pushing yourself to go outside and get some fresh air will greatly reduce the amount of time you spend with your neck craned down at your phone screen. Instead of scrolling all day, enjoy the beauty of the outside world.
Go for a stroll around the neighborhood, walk your pets, or spend a nice afternoon out at the park with your friends or family. You’ll get some light exercise in as well, so that’s just another added bonus.
It can be something simpler too, like going to the grocery store and running some errands. Find it in yourself to be productive. Make sure you don’t whip out your phone while you’re outside. To be disconnected from the internet for even a short amount of time is wonderful progress to staving off the phone addiction.
4 TURN ON DO NOT DISTURB
When you’re always bombarded by swarms of notifications, it’s a lot easier to get distracted and tap on the latest updates from your favorite apps. Going on Do Not Disturb or simply disabling certain notifications may alleviate this issue.
Out of sight, out of mind.
The absence of notifications and alerts can also help in more practical situations, like when you’re studying for a test or doing your homework. You can stay focused on the task at hand without experiencing any interruptions or distractions.
If you’re worried about missing urgent calls or texts, there’s no need to worry. Your phone allows you to enable notifications and alerts from apps of your choosing. Just swipe everything nonessential off, and after a while, the itch to constantly check your phone will slowly fade away.
