Digital detox means to cut down on the time we spend with technology across all devices and screens. When it comes to leeching our focus, time, and efficiency, the biggest digital culprit is our smartphones. It is but fitting to start your digital detox with the gadget you spend the most time on and the technology we most depend upon.
Here are 5 simple steps to start your phone detox:
1. Turn off unnecessary notifications
Take back control of your relationship with your phone by switching off app notifications that you rarely ever read. This will allow you to keep focused on the tasks at hand and not be distracted by annoying popups that you don’t need.
2. Switch to grayscale
If you find yourself endlessly scrolling on Instagram hours into your bedtime, turn your display to grayscale to make your phone less appealing and help you be more aware of your scrolling habits.
3. Be a ruthless uninstaller
Identify the phone apps that leech the most of your time and be ruthless in uninstalling them from your phone. This is the way to do a true phone detox, cleansing your phone of time-consuming apps.
4. Stick to a single screen rule
Show of hands for everyone who has ever sat on the sofa multi-screening: watching a TV series while using our phone at the same time. Yup, that makes all of us. Take it one screen at a time. After all, no one likes the person who keeps asking what’s happening every 2 minutes!
5. Use your time more wisely
Our smartphones don’t just distract us when we’re trying to tick off tasks from our to-do list, but they’re also our default schedule-filler when we’re waiting for something, bored, or in an awkward situation. A phone detox involves only using your smartphone when you really need to. Instead of spending your whole commute time scrolling through your Facebook feed, why not bring a good book, or jot down your grocery shopping list? This is a more productive use of your time and help you wean off from excessive phone use, too.
Not sure if you need a digital detox? Take this quiz from It’s Time to Log Off to find out.
Need more tips and tricks to digital detox? Head over to Time To Log Off, the home of digital well-being.
Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know in the comments below!