Inundated.
That is the word many would use to express their feelings toward the news, technology, social media and their physical alerts that manifest themselves as constant *dings” or buzzes that interrupt the peace we so try to cultivate when exploring a minimalist life.
For those of us over the age of 25, it is astounding to think that a four or five-inch hunk of glass, metal, and plastic manages so much of our daily lives including our careers, family, and friendships and that there was ever a time when we didn’t have it even though we may nostalgically yearn for those days.
For better or worse, our smartphones do just that, and it is easy to feel like there is no choice but to have one.
If you are like me and have a job that requires you to have a smartphone (which is most professional careers) than it can feel like you are forced to carry around an anxiety machine that begs your attention.
For me, just putting the phone away is easier said than done. I’ll admit it. I’m addicted.
Thankfully, I’ve discovered a few techniques and best practices that are easy to implement that can bring you back in tune with your device and help curb your addiction.
1. Recognize the problem. The first step in any recovery is recognizing you have a problem. Free apps like Moment can track the amount of time you spend each day using your phone. Try it for a day. You’ll be amazed.
2. Erase the Apps. Smartphone manufacturers don’t want you to know this, but you can make them pretty dumb. Even though you may not believe it, you don’t have to download and access Facebook, Twitter and other anxiety-inducing apps from your phone. Same goes for games, news sites, and any superfluous stressor. You can make yourself type in the browser each time you want to look at it, or if you’re going to cut them out completely you can …
3. Block Web sites. Unlike the fantastic SelfControl app you can download to your computer, iPhones don’t have an app that easily blocks Websites. Instead, you can take advantage of the security settings designed for kids. You can block specific sites from your phone in the Restrictions section of Settings. With this move, you add the places you don’t want to access and then have to go back through the process to turn the restrictions on or off. The multi-step process is a reminder that you are about to do something each time you start the process. You can read how to do it here.
4. The simplest is sometimes the best. When my second daughter’s scheduled delivery was approaching this past winter, I rushed out to buy the iPhone X thinking “Gosh, I want to be sure I have the best pictures possible of her and my family.” And, yeah, it took amazing photos. But, after I had completed the previous steps, I took a look at this cool $1,000 device and realized I didn’t need it. I went back to my iPhone SE and haven’t looked back. Plus, I don’t have to worry about constantly finding the headphone adapter.
5. Prioritize its wonderful elements. I’ve found myself recently going through an internal exercise of thinking “Wow. Now that I’ve done all of those things, couldn’t I get a cool dumb phone? I’ll use my nice SLR camera more, be less distracted while driving because I’ll break out the old Garmin navigation and use an iPod to listen to music and audiobooks.” But, then I naturally conclude that it would be great to have one device that could do it all.
There is little doubt that your phone is the dream machine every generation preceding you wish they had. It is a lifeline when you are in trouble. It is access to all of the world’s information and music at your fingertips. It is the ability to snap a photo of your beautiful children when they are doing something spontaneous and silly. Look at those elements as the reasons to use it, and you’ll find it isn’t quite in your hand as much as it was.
