Smartphones have made many aspects of our lives easier – including getting distracted. There comes a point when staying connected changes from productivity to procrastination. Bad phone habits are tough to break, but it’s not impossible. In this article, I’ll tell you how to do it without going off the grid.
3 Tips to Overcome Bad Smartphone Habits in a Digital World
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t hate tech by any means. I believe that mastering sales by phone is one of the most powerful tools for success. But according to a 2023 survey by Reviews.org, Americans check their smartphones an average of 144 times per day! And let’s be honest, they are not “making deals” each of those nearly 150 times!
With that in mind, here are three tips to simultaneously ditch the bad habits and maximize your smartphone use.
1. Distance Yourself from Distracting Apps.
I’m going to assume that your over-usage issues are not from making too many phone calls. If you’re like most of us, you get sucked into wasting time on social media or other distracting apps. Therefore, the first step to breaking bad phone habits is: Remove the apps from your home screen or delete them altogether!
When you have the “death scroll” app icons off your home screen, it becomes out of sight, out of mind. Further, you can turn off notifications for them in settings to help remove temptation. If that isn’t enough and you keep being lured back, it could be time to uninstall it.
According to Reviews.org, Americans check their smartphones an average of 144 times per day!
2. Fill in the Blank Spaces in Your Calendar.
My second tip for finally breaking your smartphone bad habits is to get busy. You need to become so jam-packed with productivity that you can barely use your phone for necessary actions.
There is more than a nugget of truth in the adage about “idle hands.” But make sure you’re getting busy with activities that get you closer to your goals – not just actions. Block-scheduling is a great method to not only minimize your distractions, but also maximize your daily accomplishments (see my April article).
Staying busy will help, but you can strengthen your discipline even more …
3. Shut it Down!
I said earlier in this article that you would not have to give up your phone, and I meant it. Nevertheless, I suggest you completely turn it off at specific times during the day. The exact hours when you do this will depend on your schedule and lifestyle. A good starting point is an hour before you go to sleep until an hour after you wake up.
These suggestions will make a huge difference in shifting how you use your phone time. In the end, it’s all going to come down to your mindset.
You CAN Break Smartphone Bad Habits
As I mentioned previously, smartphones are a tool; the ability to stop misuse of them comes from that perspective.
In general, mild bad habits are borne from boredom and need to refocus. So, next time you think about picking up your phone consider this: Will doing this result in achieving my full potential? If the answer to that question is “no,” then do something that will.
