How to Effectively do a Phone Detox
                     How To Effectively Do A
Phone Detox
Let’s have some fun and do a quick quiz. Answer honestly and lets see if you
could benefit from a simple phone detox.
Which of the following situations occur to you frequently?
● You check your phone just or shortly after waking up in the morning.
● You check your phone just or shortly before bedtime at night.
● You look at your phone screen while walking down the street, cycling,
rollerblading, etc
● You look at your phone screen while driving.
● You use your phone when there are other people with you. (eating out
etc)
● You have a very strong impulse to use your phone when you have to wait,
even if it’s only a few seconds.
If most of the situations described above happen to you, then you are probably
addicted to your phone. They say you are addicted to your smartphone if you
use it more than 60 times a day. Does that sound a lot? It’s really not and that
time adds up quickly.
In this article, we will go through some effective ways to help you overcome
phone addiction or do a phone detox.
Find The Apps That Hook You the Most
There are apps that will tell you how many times you have unlocked your phone
every day and it will tell you what apps you have used and the time you spend
on each of them both daily and weekly. You will also see the periods of time
you are not using your phone. Take a look and it might just surprise you how
reliant you are on your preferred device.
Reflect On Your Apps Usage
Once you determine the apps you use most, start to think about why you use
them so much, especially if it is too much. Normally boredom is one of the main
causes.  Other  causes  may  be:  the  feeling  of  loneliness,  the  need  to  be
recognized, wanting to stay connected and not miss out, overcome challenges,
etc. Take some time to reflect possible reasons for the phone addiction.
Disable All Notifications
Yes, you read that right. You have to disable all notifications on your mobile. If
you don’t, you are giving permission to other people and apps to interrupt you
whenever  they feel  like it.  We are always reacting to notifications:  we stop
doing what we were doing, we lose concentration, and we ignore people who
are by our side.
You have to change these habits and instead of looking at your phone every
time it vibrates or sounds with a notification, you have to schedule some time in
which you will open the apps but also time when you wont.
Set Usage Limits
Disabling  all  notifications  does  not  help  much  if  we  constantly  look  at  our
phone apps. This happened to me, I had no notifications but I opened Twitter,
Google+ and email several times an hour.
Tim Ferriss recommends avoiding "time wasters" in "The 4-hour Workweek" As
the book was written in 2006, it tells us to limit the time you check your email
which was the biggest digital distraction of the time. Now, it would be social
networks and continuous notifications from mobile apps. Ferriss recommended
changing the impulsive and frequent checking of email to three or four times
planned during the day to read and answer messages (Preferably leaving the
first hours of the morning free to focus on important tasks).
Applying this to your mobile device means you can release yourself from being
tied, now is a great time to do a phone detox for most of us, dare you rise to
the challenge?