Are you having difficulty curbing your cell phone addiction? One of the biggest drains on time and mental energy in modern life is what I call “screen sucking.” Screen sucking in when you are mindlessly sending and receiving emails, texting, surfing the net or checking your cell phone or any number of devices while walking, driving, or brushing your teeth. Sound familiar?
Take a few minutes now and ask yourself, “How much time do I spend on my phone each day?” How much time does that add up to in a week? Is this how I want to live my life?
If you want to start enjoying the human moment and having technology drain the life out of you, try implementing the 3 tips below to stop your cell phone addiction.
Step #1 SET A GOAL.
How much total time should be spent each day on electronics. Then break the total goal into time categories: how much time where, doing what, with whom.
Step #2 PLAN DAILY PERIODS OF ABSTINENCE.
These “brain breaks” provide intervals of time in which no electronic device may be turned on. Yes, this will be difficult for you at first. So try beginning with 10 minutes twice a day. Then increase that time by 10 minutes a week until you reach 1 hour a day or goal you all want to achieve. Go one step further, plan a “de-tox” day over the weekend.
Step # 3 Replenish daily your dose of the other Vitamin C
Vitamin Connect. Overuse of electronics depletes one’s store of the human connection. Spend time having a face-to-face conversation with people, uninterrupted by anything. Try banning electronics when you’re out with friends or during dinner.
Want more tips on managing technology, listen to my Distraction mini 45 “Your Annual Screen Sucking Self Exam.”
Click here to read Dr. Hallowell’s blog post on The Real Danger of Digital Addiction.
Want to learn more about managing your phone time? Click here to read Accounting for Phone Time by Rebecca Shafir.
