Tips to Manage Smartphone Addiction for Increased Productivity

This one habit will make April your best month yet. Digital intermittent fasting: —— Ever heard of intermittent fasting? It’s when you wait a few hours to eat breakfast after waking up. And you finish your last meal a few hours before going to sleep. So… what if we applied that same idea to our phones? —— Here’s how a “digital detox” works: ☝️ 1). Don’t check your phone for 1 hour after waking up ✌️ 2). Put your phone away 1 hour before bed Let’s dive in… —— I’ve been “digital intermittent fasting” for years. ↳ (For me, that means no phone from 6-7am and from 9-10pm.) When you start, these 5 things will happen… 🔥 💤 1. 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩. (We all know screen time before bed is bad. But I didn’t realize HOW much better my sleep would get…) ⚡️ 2. 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞. (I genuinely wouldn’t notice this if I didn’t “detox” for those 2 hours x day) 💪 3. 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 + 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲. (It’s wild how much more I get done when I’m not constantly task-switching) 😌 4. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. (Such a relief to give my brain a break from cheap dopamine like social media, texts, pings, the news). But the most surprising part…? 💯 5. 𝐖𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞. (Seriously.) —— Ready to try it? These 5 tips make it way easier: ↳ 1. Decide your detox times ↳ 2. Buy a physical alarm clock to get you up in the morning ↳ 3. 1 hour before bedtime, plug your phone in somewhere fully out of sight ↳ 4. Let people (who text you often) know that you’re trying this out and won’t be on your phone for those 2 hours x day. ↳ 5. Plan how you’re going to “fill the void.” (This is so important): 👉 Morning ideas: (1 hour) Work out, go for a walk, shower, cook breakfast, meditate, write down your 3 most important tasks, start deep work. 👉 Evening ideas: (1 hour) Spend screen-free time with your partner, get into flow with some creative work, read a few chapters of a book. —— It might feel uncomfortable in the beginning. Just make it through the first 2 days. Start small. It’ll get easier. And all of a sudden, you’ll realize… you’ve replaced 2 hours of mindless scroll with habits that are building your dreams. Here’s to making the next month your best yet. 🥂 ——

Four quick ways to dramatically reduce distractions: (Pick just one and you'll still benefit!) Pick up your phone and: 1. Adjust your colorful screen to grayscale. 2. Disable most notifications. Batch others. 3. Set daily time limits by app/app category. 4. Put your phone out of reach and/or sight. People often tell me they struggle to focus. It's something I'd noticed increasingly in myself, too. And then I realized I could greatly improve my focus by setting myself up for focus by removing distractions. Which both increase focus and reduce stress. So last year I began with notifications. Removing the super random ones, and batching most of the rest into three chosen times: 9am, 3pm, 7pm. I then reduced the color on my screen. Full grayscale didn't display well in certain apps but subtle color did. And finally I set the app/phone time limits. And when I did I realized I often hit them before 10am. Yikes. Do I override the limits sometimes? YES. But when I do I now put the phone down much faster. I also kept a handful of notifications - eg family texts - real time. As we begin a new week, if you've found yourself distracted, which of these will you try? And what have I missed? If this post resonated, you can help others see it with your reactions, comments & reposts. Together we can improve our focus - and overall wellbeing. *** Hi, I'm Sally! Click follow (+) for more on workplace wellbeing, personal growth, human resilience, meaningful connection, cancer survivorship & more. #wellbeing #technology #productivity

I turned my phone on grayscale 3 months ago It shot up my productivity and focus by tenfold Here are my top 4 findings: 1. I began prioritizing text-first activities My urge to doomscroll mindlessly through apps had been obliterated because the colorful appeal was gone. By the end of the first week, I spent more time on emails, catching up on notes, and reading more books. My phone became a dedicated tool for communication and knowledge because everything else became boring without color. 2. Every picture felt nostalgic The lack of color gave each photo in my album a timeless feel because it was black and white. I started to appreciate this specifically because the memory in my head began to stand out without the phone's color to fill in the blanks. 3. Noticeable boost in productivity The lack of color purged the temptation to glance at notifications on my phone because it was all gray. There were no "red" icons to denote urgency. This led to longer periods of concentration and more time spent on meaningful tasks. On top of it all, there seems to be a decrease in overall mental fatigue at the end of the day. 4. More time with family A boring phone really puts life into perspective. Notifications, emails, and pings just aren't that important. With everything grayed out, Life itself became more colorful. Disconnecting with my phone was one of the best things I did to be more present with my family. _ If you enjoyed this post: Click Like to say thanks Comment if you're awesome Follow for dad jokes

If you're a bit too attached to your phone, read this.👇 Give Digital Intermittent Fasting a try. Think of it as a break from the constant “digital buffet”. Start with not checking your phone 2+ hours before bed and 2+ hours after you wake up in the morning. Here are 5 lessons Iʼve learned from traditional fasting and applied to the digital world: 1) Set Boundaries We aren't designed for constant information exposure, just as our ancestors weren't surrounded by food 24/7. Limiting data intake is as vital as regulating eating. 2) Resist Fast Dopamine Too much cheap dopamine, whether from candy or endless scrolling, can overstimulate your brain's reward centers and lead to addiction. 3) Prioritize Rest Digital fasting, like regular food fasting, gives your mind and body a chance to rest. It's a chance to strengthen relationships, reconnect with nature, and protect our eyes from harmful blue light. 4) 80% Full Embrace "hara hachi bu," a Japanese concept that means "eat until you are 80% full. Even if you get lost in a TikTok rabbit hole, you'll know when to stop. 5) Schedule Your Consumption Create a daily digital "eating" window. Decide when you check emails, use social media, or watch Netflix to reduce decision fatigue. To integrate more healthy habits into your life, check the link in the comments. Are you ready to give digital intermittent fasting a try? Your future self will thank you! ___ If you found this helpful, feel free to share ♻️. For more valuable content, follow me Victoria Repa. Don't forget to hit the 🔔 button to stay updated on my future posts. #healthadvice #discipline #digitaldetox #fasting