There’s something liberating about knowing how to use your phone less. Of being free from the invisible cords that keep us constantly coming back for more.
Spending time away from our phones and other devices is key to digital minimalism. But in this post, we’ll be focusing on our phones.
When limiting phone usage, it’s important to find a balance. This is a device a lot of us use every day. To cut this down to a small amount in a short amount of time will be difficult. Instead, try some of these tactics without completely cutting out your phone usage.
How To Use Your Phone Less – Black & White Mode
Most smartphones have a feature that allows you to turn off colour, instead opting for grayscale. This is powerful and super easy to enable. Why is it so powerful?
- Colours on your phone provide repeat, small hits of dopamine that keep you coming back for more. This occurs without conscious realisation.
- As a result, your phone becomes less appealing. A less appealing phone means you’ll spend less time using it.
- It doesn’t restrict usage. You can still use your phone as much as you want, as long as you use it in black & white. Even without restrictions, you’ll use it less.
Limiting Usage
Depending on how disciplined you are, this tactic is either effective or useless. Having specific slots where you can’t use your phone will, if enforced, result in less time spent on the device.
The best place to start is by limiting phone time in the morning and evening. During the day, you can use your phone as much as you want. But not for one hour in the morning and evening, before and after sleep. Not only will this help your productivity, but your sleep will improve too. Let me explain.
Not using your phone in the morning means you won’t get distracted. You won’t be spending time first thing in the day reacting to someone else (notifications). Rather, spend this time to work through your morning routine or making progress on a personal project.
No phone before bed will improve the quality of your sleep. But only if you don’t replace it with another device. Blue light emitted from devices resembles daylight, suppressing melatonin and making our brains feel alert. We don’t want this before sleeping. Instead, try swapping for a book and/or an evening routine.
How To Use Your Phone Less – Lock It Up! (Or Put It Away)
This option is a bit extreme but can work wonders. Begin by investing in one of these timer-locked boxes, and putting your phone inside. Doing so will prevent yourself from using your phone. These boxes double up for restricting other items, such as food or video games, so the investment is worthwhile.
These are great for promoting focus if your phone is a primary source of distraction for you. If you can go without your phone for a few hours but may need it at some point, put it in another room instead. The outcome is similar, but the option to use it is still there. But, since it’s out of sight, it will be out of mind.
Delete Non-Essential Apps
It’s likely that a lot of your phone usage is on apps that serve no real purpose. Social Media apps are a clear example. They likely take up the most time and cause the most damage. You can always re-download apps whenever you want to use them.
Consider deleting these apps:
- Social Media
- YouTube
- Any mobile games
- News apps
Like I said before, if you want to re-download an app, that’s fine. If you’re going to do this, though, try deleting it once finished. What you’re doing here is creating friction and distance between yourself and the app. The more difficult it is to use a certain app, the less likely you are to use it.
Wrapping Up
With the tactics offered in this post, I’m sure you’ll be able to cut down on your phone usage. Many can be used in combination, and I’ve found great success with them all. Start by choosing one, then move on to a second if you want to cut down further. Aim for all 4!
Thanks for reading.
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