Top Tips For Reducing Time Spent On Your Cell Phone

With many mobile phones sharing with us how many hours we are spending on them – millions of people have been confronted with a huge time sink. While not all of the time spent on a mobile phone is useless – scrolling for hours through social media isn’t always productive either. 

So if you are ready to spend less time on your mobile phone and more time on the important things to you – here are a couple of tips to get you there. 

Why should you spend less time on your phone? 

The truth is that if you don’t want to spend less time, there is no real reason to put the phone down. However, there are a lot of studies that show people with mobile phone addictions are more likely to show signs of depression. In cases where you rely heavily on your phone, having emergency phone chargers on hand can ensure you stay connected without worrying about running out of battery.

Less social media consumption can lead to improvements in well-being. And the more often we reach for short bursts of dopamine (like the ones we get from TikTok), the shorter our attention span becomes. 

Those are some pretty compelling reasons! 

So, how can you kick the habit? 

Be Aware

Be aware of how much time you are spending by looking at the screen time total. You might be surprised that you are using your phone for seven or more hours a day. What could you do with that time? 

All of the things you don’t have time for could have been tackled if you had put the mobile phone down for a while. 

Know Your Purpose

It used to be that phones would only be used for making calls or sending texts. What if you went back to that for a while? It is tough to do when you are on a data plan, so it may be time to cancel the running plan and pay a prepaid bill. Everything you do will need to have a purpose – and is it worth the cost? 

Turn off Notifications

There are some notifications you will want to have when you need them—for example, the school, doctors, or other important ones. You can set your phone to let through important calls and messages – while having the rest of the notifications turned off. 

Notifications will keep you reaching for your phone; turning them off will mean you will get a break. However, you might find in the first few days; you reach for your phone out of habit. Over time, the habit becomes less. 

Delete Apps

Have you checked how many apps you have that you don’t use or need? Often we pack our phones with apps that we don’t use. Start going through the apps and see what you really need and what you don’t. Anything that isn’t needed is taking up memory and space – as well as adding to the temptation. 

Set your phone to Black & White

We respond to bright colors, and with all of the apps on the phone being bright – they are more than a little tempting. Head into the settings on your phone and find the grayscale options. Keep in mind that apps like Instagram and TikTok will also be in grayscale – so you are likely to find you spend less time on there too! 

Reducing how much time you spend on your phone can free up plenty of time to do other things. 

Lessening your phone usage can see you have a lot more time to spend with your family: Finding Ways To Spend Quality Time With Your Family.