7 ways to Tame your Smartphone Checking Habit.

Do you have any idea how many times you unlock your phone screen each day?  I installed an app called App Usage and was amazed how it varied from day to day.  Some days it was high like 100 and other days much, much lower.  It depended if I had an active day or was stuck in bed.

Some days when the numbers got high it was when I had a lot of symptoms and was at times almost obsessively seeking distraction or hoping to see something that would magically make me feel more at ease.

Here are some ideas to take back a bit of control when you find yourself reaching for your phone more than you would like.

1. Turn off alerts and notifications so you don’t get regular prompts to check each email that arrives and social media updates or messages.

2. When you sense yourself reaching for your phone, stop and do some breathing if you are feeling restless.  You could try my 5 breath refresher technique.

3. Uninstall some apps from your phone like Facebook and then when you want to check it you need to open the website in your browser .

4. Stop some websites and apps from remembering your password so you are more aware you are checking AGAIN.

5. Have month free from a social media platform or app that is disrupting your happiness. Delete the app, you can easily get it back later.

6. Try an App that stops you from being able to check certain sites during set times or that tells you how many times you have unlocked your phone that day.

7. Setup your email account to sort incoming mail into folders.  Leave your favorite senders to go to your inbox.  Then when your alerts are on it more likely dings if it’s an email you want to know about.

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