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Louise Thomas

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Smartphones have been one of the biggest game-changers in terms of human innovation in a long time. Now part of the fabric of society, they’ve also changed how we go about our daily lives – from first thing in the morning to late at night, many of us are never without our phones.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by the need to be on your phone at all times, though, scanning for new messages or updates, you might be wondering how to distance yourself a little. Here are some tips that might just help you to use your phone less – and enjoy life a little more…

1. Put that charger somewhere else

The bedside phone charger is a serious problem – so many of us default to having our charging cables next to a bedside table for convenience. After all, for alarms and morning messages your phone is super useful.

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Still, too many experts have now queued up to recommend that you charge your phone in another room to be ignored. This will, in one fell swoop, distance you from your phone when you’re winding down for bed, and encourage you to partake in more relaxing activities, whether that’s reading a book or whatever else. It’s a change that’s easy to make but can have noticeable outcomes.

2. Trim your notifications right down

Another accepted problem with modern smartphones is that every company under the sun has figured out the best way to worm into people’s routines – notifications. Every app now wants permission to ping you whenever it has an offer, a reminder or an update to shout about, and that can turn into a stressful cacophony all too quickly.

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It might take you a little time, but going into your notification settings and removing permissions from anything other than essentials like messages and phone calls can be life-altering. All of sudden, you’ll find your phone doesn’t hold nearly as much sway over you when it’s not in your hand. Of course, you’ll still need to break the habit of checking it compulsively.

3. Use Focus mode on iPhone

A few iOS updates ago, Apple debuted a new system called Focus modes that lets you basically set different types of ‘Do Not Disturb’ states for your phone, although it was a little complicated and messily advertised at launch.

Now though, after some refinement, you can really easily set up modes that will mute notifications or only let certain types through, and toggling between these can be a great way to more consciously control your phone use. Having a ‘Work’ mode, for example, can stop social media from getting through to you, while ‘Sleep’ is another must-have for winding down.

4. Set screen-time limits

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Both Android and iPhone users have had access to screen-time limits for ages – these settings let you put in reminders and restrictions on specific apps to encourage you to use them less. They also have a reputation for being easy to get around, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work for everyone.

If you’ve already tried them and found yourself just tapping a PIN code to get through anyway, move on – but if you’ve not yet experimented, these could be ideal for helping you to tune out an app or two that you feel like you’d be happier without.

5. Go nuclear

When things are just too much, taking action outside of a phone’s built-in software limits might be the answer. This might mean actually deleting an app, rather than just limiting it or removing it from your home screen, or you could go further.

Getting more used to turning your phone off for long periods is a great option – in any situation where you’d be putting it on silent, for example, consider powering it down. This might stop it from lurking at the back of your mind with the promise of new emails or unseen notifications.

Some people also recommend putting a hair-tie or rubber band around your phone. This physical barrier that you have to remove or at least move around any time you want to use your smartphone can help keep you mindful of the idea that you’re trying to pick it up less. Experiment and see what works for you.

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