“I am tired now. Let me sit for a while and take a small break. Where is my phone? Got it. Let me check what is happing around. ….Ohh … it’s almost 30 minutes gone in checking on mobile. I need to reduce phone usage”. Isn’t this your inner voice? Do you feel the same way most of the time surfing on mobile? But How to reduce too much mobile time? Read on to find the solution.
Mobile phones are a vital need today. We use it for many things like paying bills, grocery shopping, playing games and studying and on top of the list is social media. Aren’t we habitual to it ..? Yes We are…Mobile phones have become a core part of our daily lifestyle. But don’t you feel sometimes that, we are overusing those gadgets? Sometimes, It feels like Instead of us using a Mobile phone, a mobile phone uses us (which means our time). For example, in the past, before there were smartphones, we had some peaceful minutes in our day, that we could have used to have a power nap, spend it with the kid, or read something. But now, we end up wasting those precious minutes on phone, especially on social media, and later regret doing that or feel guilty. We all have felt that many times….haven’t we?
Have awareness within to reduce phone usage
The mobile phone takes up most of my precious time. Whenever we get little time from our busy day, the first thing that we do is reach out to our phone, to check what is happening in our virtual life, and then on unnecessary shopping through advertisements. Moreover, this mobile phone eats up our mealtime too. We get lost in our mobile phones instead of being attentive to what is happening in our surroundings. This way we end up spending so many hours on phone, only later to feel guilty about wasting so much time on it.
If one day you decide to count the hours you have spent on phones, you will be surprised to know that you have spent many hours on it, then actually this phone deserves. Later we feel so much overwhelmed in our minds, with so much unnecessary information. That whole lot of garbage information, eventually makes you feel exhausted. Most of the time with that unnecessary info, rather than feel happy, we may become sad, jealous, and anxious. Not only us, but also affects our family members. We get distracted from important things to be accomplished in a day, that actually need our quality time.
Surprisingly, many have yet not reached that level where they could feel sorry for the time being wasted on phone. Then they end up complaining about not having enough time in a day to do other important things. If you have the awareness that you need to reduce your phone usage then it is a big step itself that will help you reduce your phone usage. This awareness within you shows that you want to make your life better.
Take MOBILE BREAKS to reduce phone usage
I wanted to get rid of this too much mobile phone use habit of mine and wanted to reduce my phone usage. To overcome it, I have discovered a wonderful solution. I.e. called ‘MOBILE BREAKS’.
I never start my day by checking my mobile first. First, I finish up with my early morning routine, then promise myself to beep into my phone only for 5 minutes. While I am having my morning tea, I check my phone and give attention to only that, which is really very important and needs my immediate attention. After this I put my phone on DND (do not disturb) mode for the next 2 hours, after 2 hours I check it for only 2 mins for any important calls and msgs. Then again I put my phone on DND for the next 2 hrs, and so on.
Place your phone out of your reach to avoid the temptation to peep into it
Initially, I too felt the temptation to check my mobile phone every now and then. But to overcome this temptation, I put my phone in a place where my eyes do not catch attention to it. Then I managed to forget about it totally. Believe me with this new habit, sometimes, I even forget to check my phone every 2 hours. You can keep your phone ringer a bit loud for any calls.
You will find many such useful hacks for time management in my book ‘GOAL TO SUCCESS’, which will help you identify how can you achieve more for yourself in the available time.
Here is a link to my book: https://amzn.to/3GZi0nW
Trust me this “MOBILE BREAKS ” habit has given me very good control over my time. I can do much more with my available time. Like I am fully attentive to my kid about what he is playing. Unlike earlier days, when he used to ask for my attention and I was beeping through my phone for just 5 sec to see what he is playing. Seems like my kid was totally at mercy of my mobile time. Now, I am fully present in the moment with him, while he plays, or studies. This is no less than magical to watch your kids playing, with your full attention.
Small and tiny TIME POCKETS that you get in a day, if you learn to use it in a proper way, will work as a great game-changer in the journey to your achievements.
Poonam Bhatt
Prioritize Your mobile time
It doesn’t mean that you have to take ‘SANYAS’ from your phone to reduce your mobile time. You just have to manage your mobile or phone time. I prioritize when to give time on mobile, how much time to spend on mobile, and on what to give time on mobile. Of course, we can not deny the facilities we get through online shopping for groceries and many other necessary things, but that is of course not a daily activity. So one can easily manage time spent on it. But apart from those essential things that need to be accomplished through mobile, I spent little time on mobile reading books, and blogs to get some boost in this monotonous routine. I do check my social media account, but maybe for 5 or 10 mins in a day or two.
Key Point to Reduce Phone Usage
1. Take mobile breaks.
2. Put your phone on DND(Do not disturb) for 2 hrs intervals, and check it in between those DNDs.
3. Place your phone away from the reach of your eyes to not get into the temptation of checking it.
4. After 2 hrs of DND only check it for some important phone calls and messages.
5. Dedicate a few minutes regularly to check your social media account, and resist checking that account other than that time,
If you try this, you will find a great difference in the quality of your life. You will get enough time to do things that you always wanted to do like reading, spending some quality time with kids, exercising, and whatnot…
If with this article I have made even 5% of the change in your life, then I will be more than happy, and really wanted to hear from you. Do give your valuable comment on this article. Please do share it with your friends and family, to help them reduce their phone usage. Subscribe to my blog to get notifications about such useful articles.
