During lockdown we are spending a lot more time on our phones. It might be to connect with loved ones or to shop online, or you may even be reading this article on your phone. As we are less able to do things physically, we have moved into the virtual world.
During lockdown we are spending a lot more time on our phones. It might be to connect with loved ones or to shop online, or you may even be reading this article on your phone. As we are less able to do things physically, we have moved into the virtual world.
Yet, staying on our phones all day isn’t healthy for us, both mentally and physically.
Whilst we are seperated from society and loneliness is high for many of us, we do not suggest a total detox from your mobile phone (though you can, of course, if you want to).
Instead Radar has compiled a list of tips to help you try and be in control of your mobile phone (and not the other way round!).
Mute your phone
When you have your phone turned up, the ping of a new notification makes you suddenly excited and eager to see what it is. It’s extremely difficult not to look and once you have, you will often find yourself half an hour later still scrolling through social media.
To avoid this from happening mute your phone, especially during times you have scheduled to be productive in. Also, try to cover the part of the phone that flashes with notification alerts as this too can be very distracting.
Lock Screen
What’s on your lock screen? The answer, for the majority of us, will be a photo of something we love. This makes us automatically associate our phone with positivity and makes us happy. Set your lock screen to something that makes you think for a second about why you shouldn’t go onto your phone but do something else. You could even make a to-do list in the morning and keep this as your lockscreen for the day, to try and get you to be more proactive and see what you can do that would be more useful, rather than spending hours on social media.
Log Out
Often, the reason why we spend so much time on our phones is because it’s so easy to access everything. You simply have to tap into the app and you are exposed to a world of funny memes, interesting facts and lots of gossip. Each time you go into social media, log out afterwards. Logging in everytime will be frustrating and boring, yes, but this is the point. Having to physically type in your username and password each time to see what the latest meme is will make it far less appealing and make the real world seem much more instantaneous and fun to be in.
Go Old School
Often our entire world is on our phone, in fact we often base our lives around our phone. In lockdown, our work lives and our social lives are all online now. Our phone is most likely the first thing we check in the morning and the last thing we check at night.
It’s time to ditch the phone and go old school. There’s a number of ways we can do this.
Get an actual calendar or a pocket diary. Whilst we often mark our important dates on our phone’s calendar, get an actual calendar or diary instead and do it this way. This will make us less reliant on our phones as being the go-to source of information for us.
Buy an alarm clock. If your phone is your alarm, it will be the first thing you pick up and no doubt you will end up being in bed scrolling through social media. An alarm clock will allow you to associate starting the day with being productive and you can even get your breakfast first before you look at your phone.
Finally, read a paper book or a print magazine before you go to sleep. Looking at your phone as the last thing you do before you go to sleep keeps your mind alert and you have no time to rewind and reflect on the day.
Reading before bed helps your muscles relax and breathing to slow, letting you feel a sense of calmness and get a good night’s sleep. Your local library and the RGU library have tons of reading materials that you may find of interest so be sure to check out their websites.
We know that detoxing from your phone, especially during lockdown, can be difficult. Instead though, see it as an opportunity to have time for new ventures, like learning a musical instrument or going for walks in new places.
Have you got any tips on how to detox from social media? Let us know in the comments or on social media!