How To Unglue Yourself From Your Phone (Subtle Habit-Building Strategies That Actually Work)
Look, I’m not some kind of yogi trying to give you lectures about writing a gratitude journal first thing in the morning rather than checking your phone. I’m not delusional.
Neither am I going to shame you and make you tell me your screen time. Nobody needs that kind of negativity.
I’m not calling technology evil or saying that smartphones kill our social connections. But for some reason
I think that watching ridiculous heavily filtered 15-second-snippets of people we’ve never met 30 seconds after we wake up is not the best idea. What do you think?
This is not a preaching sermon but a simple guide of how to strategically unglue yourself from your screen. Or at least reduce the amount of time when your smartphone tricks you into forgetting about the rest of the world.
Reshuffle Your Home Screen
You know what it’s like, you unlock your phone and you click on the Instagram icon. It’s a reflex. Just like knowing how to open a door when you see one. Or automatically pouring yourself a glass of wine when opening the fridge. No? Just me?
“You don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You can also be the architect of it.” — James Clear, Atomic Habits
Before you reshuffle the apps on your Home Screen, let me warn you, you’re gonna be really mad at yourself. Just like you get mad at your local grocery store when they change up the aisles.
Put the Instagram app on a different screen, put the Medium app on the dock instead. You’ll be surprised at how much that changes your behaviour.
It will have you clicking on the wrong icons and taking a second and thinking about what you were actually going to do. Rather than getting the tub of ice cream from the frozen section just like you always do.
Anyway, I digress.
Buy an Alarm Clock
Looking at your phone for 20 minutes right after you wake up? Getting a fight-or-flight nervous response from the morning emails before you’ve even brushed your teeth?
This is not your fault.
You switched the alarm off, you held the phone in your hand already, what were you meant to do?
I know you’re probably going to have trust issues with an old school device like an alarm clock. I would too. And I know you can’t set your favourite song as an alarm clock this way. (Who does that these days anyway?) But once you get used to it, it has a potential to break your behaviour pattern.
And that’s much easier than trying to not look at your phone first thing in the morning when you don’t have it in your hand already. Who knew?
Don’t Turn Off But MUTE Notifications
I haven’t turned off notifications and I think that might actually make you check your phone as (if not more) often because of the constant FOMO. But muting them could work as a great compromise for you. It did for me.
While you won’t have to run to your smartphone every time it pings at you (like a dog), you’ll still have all your notifications waiting for you for when you decide it is the right time to check them.
Leave Your Phone in the Other Room
I know you’ve heard it before but I promise this will do wonders to your productivity. And it’s my “must-do” strategy when I’m writing.
Did you know that it can take you up to 20 minutes to get back into your flow after a distraction? That means a sneaky little peek on Instagram can cost you hours of work.
When I first tried this strategy, I was shocked at how much it worked. Just a simple change of having to walk to a different room to check TikTok (Is TikTok what people do these days? I don’t know) makes you reconsider how much you really want to do that.
Buy a Smart Watch
I know what you’re thinking: How’s an extension of my phone on my wrist going to help me get away from my phone? Sounds a bit counter-intuitive. But I found that the opposite is true. Getting a smart watch can significantly help you reduce your screen time.
The reason is that since you are constantly connected and can preview all the notifications on your wrist, you can just take note of them (aka you avoid the FOMO) but respond to them later.
And in case something IS REALLY URGENT and requires your immediate attention, (this, as you will find out, happens a lot less often that you think), then you don’t miss that either. Win-win.
Put All the Apps into Folders
I’ve only done this recently and it worked more than reshuffling my Home Screen for me. So it might be just as effective for you.
I’ve made sure all the useful apps, like Audible, Ulysses, Spotify, and Medium, are easily accessible for me, while all the time wasters like Instagram and alike are hidden in folders.
Delete the Apps
Putting apps into folders isn’t working for you? Looking for something more hardcore? Delete them!
There is a reason it’s so easy to get stuck in a rabbit hole of social media apps. Those apps are designed to be enjoyable.
Don’t try to challenge your willpower. Be smarter than that and opt for a less user-friendly experience.
All of a sudden, Instagram isn’t so addictive when you have to deal with the clunky website version. (Sorry, app Gods).
Reply with a Call
Okay, this tip is definitely not for me. I am a kind of person who doesn’t pick up unknown numbers and all my friends know they need to text me. The only person allowed to call me out of nowhere is my mum.
And since most writers are introverts too, I’m guessing this is most likely your case as well. But for those who actually like talking on the phone (I’ve heard they exist) try replying to the texts with a call.
Rather than spending an hour on back-and-forth messages, talk about it and just move on.
And in case you don’t really let the messages disturb you and you’re more of a “I will reply to you in 3–5 business days” kind of person, don’t worry about it.
Challenge Your Phone Separation Anxiety
The last habit you can try getting into is getting outside/ doing something without taking your phone. Yes, you’ve read it right. I’m talking about going for a walk, a dip in the ocean, or getting a coffee, and leaving your phone at home.
Sounds insane? Hear me out.
When you overcome the separation anxiety, you’ll find that experiences are much more intense and interesting without constant distraction in your hand.
This is especially good for creatives and writers. Once you let your thoughts and mind wonder, you’ll come up with the best ideas. Then you just have to rush home to write about it.
I’m not shaming anyone or trying to say that they are addicted to their phone. We all are. I actually don’t think it’s our fault.
But there are some subtle changes that you can do in order to unglue yourself from your phone.
Let me know if you already doing some of these or have some additional tips that work for you?
