Finally, you’re ready: You’ve made a New Year’s resolution to step out of your device more often, stay more present in the world, and kick your smartphone addiction to the curb once and for all.
Now what?
Deciding to take the step is one thing - but knowing exactly how to do it is another story, especially once you realize that willpower alone won’t cut it.
If you’re ready to ring in the new year by taking back the present moment, here are five simple steps you can take to help get you there.
1. Track Your Phone Time
There’s nothing that’ll punch you in the stomach and fuel a change in behavior quite like becoming aware of how much time you’re actually spending on your phone each day. According to eMarketer’s 2016 mobile report, the average user spends a whopping 4 hours, 5 minutes per day on her smartphone. Just - wow.
Track your phone time automatically and see which apps you use the most with the Moment app. If you find that you’re using your phone more than you’d like, you can set daily limits and the app will notify you when you’ve gone over. There’s even a setting that will force you off your phone if your usage gets too high!
2. Give Your Home Screen a Makeover
Take control of your screen time back in 2018 by utilizing the following tips suggested by the organization Time Well Spent: First, try moving your mindless apps (social media and other time-suckers) to the back page of your smartphone, and keeping only your utility apps (calendar, weather, etc.) to the front. Better yet, delete some of your mindless apps altogether.
Next, visit your Settings > Notifications and turn off app notifications you don’t need. Do you need to reminded that someone liked your twitter feed? Instead of being pulled mindlessly into apps throughout the day, why not take control? You decide when you want to visit an app and check notifications.
3. Take Small But Meaningful Actions Every Day
Now that you’ve got the basics under control, it’s time to download some apps that can help you get out of your device and into the real world. Giantgood is a great option that helps you take meaningful actions every day - it’s almost like having a fanatic personal trainer running next to you all day, motivating you to take small but meaningful actions. “Go on a walk after dinner!” She might offer. Or “Call up a relative!”, ‘cause she somehow knows you’ve been too busy scrolling Instagram to call up your dear sweet grandmother lately. “Buy a coffee for a stranger!” she might suggest, offering you options that benefit yourself, others, and the world around you.
The app sends you three choices every day - small but meaningful acts you can complete in just a few minutes, but that will help you get out of your device and connect with the three-dimensional world around you. All you need to do is pick one and complete it! Voila: Doing meaningful things in the real world has never been easier. Giantgood is currently available for the iPhone and Android.
4. Get Outside!
Sometimes it’s so easy to get sucked into the world of social media, emails, and Candy Crush Saga that you find you aren’t getting your butt off the couch and into the outdoors as often as you’d like.
Strava is an app that helps you disconnect for your device and get outside into nature. Use this app to track the time, pace, and distance of your hikes, runs, or rides and to connect you with other active people in your community.
5. Tune In For A Tech-Free Dinner
The Dinnermode app helps you break your phone addiction by challenging you to stay off your phone during dinner - but you can also use it anytime you want a tech-free experience.
The concept is simple: All you need to do is choose an amount of time you want to stay off your phone - 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or one hour - and then your phone prompts you to turn it upside down on a flat surface. If you pick your phone up before the timer ends, you fail the Dinnermode challenge!
Doesn’t it feel good to take back dinner?
The Time Is Now
There’s never been a better time to take back control of your time and your life than right now. Technology has trained us to continually chain ourselves to our devices, but in each moment we always have a choice: we can continue to live unconsciously, constantly allowing our devices to suck us into the “black hole of no return” - or we can choose our actions in each moment with mindfulness, awareness and ease.
In 2018, we hope you choose the latter.
Happy New Year!