How To Stop Using Your Phone Excessively

It’s amazing how something most people didn’t even have only a few decades ago is now in the hands of the majority of people. Not just that, but it is also the source of obsessions and addictions. Seemingly uncontrollable urges to check it pop up at any time and many people just comply and end up scrolling for hours. Can you guess what it is? It’s a cell phone. Was that a fun riddle?

Don’t get it wrong, cell phones are great. They have made it easier to get help even when seemingly stranded, made it easier to record the beautiful moments in life and even made it easier to play games against someone across the world that you never even met.

The pros of having a phone are many but there is a such thing as too much of a good thing. If you are obsessed with your phone then you may find the beautiful moments of life pass you by while (instead of enjoying them) you have your eyes on a screen. You might find yourself distracted when people talk to you, busy with your phone when you should be working or (worse yet) distracted by it when you should be doing something important. Side note: don’t use your phone while driving or walking on the street because that can be dangerous to your life, the life of those who might be with you and/or the lives of others.

Ways to stop using your phone excessively

What should you do if you use your phone too often? Well, consider this list to learn ways to deal with an excessive phone usage problem in order to help yourself stay in control.

1. Hide or delete time-consuming apps you don’t need

If you find you use your phone excessively there is a good chance most, if not all, of your usage is associated with a single app or a select few. Now, some apps are necessary and sometimes you may need access to certain apps in order to stay up-to-date. However, if you find that you use a useless app or apps that occupy too much of your time, delete them. We can remove them from the equation here.

If deleting the apps is too much for you, there is an alternative. You could simply hide them to make them more difficult to access. Consider putting your most time consuming app(s) in a folder on the last page of your menu. Make them difficult to go on. The harder it is to access the unnecessary time-consuming apps, the better.

2. Make it hard to keep checking your phone

If your phone is on the table right in front of you it’s probably easy to open it up and get lost in it. Try putting your phone slightly out of reach. This doesn’t have to mean putting it in another room unless you feel your situation is extreme. Do always remember that it is a smart idea to stay close to your phone in case of an emergency.

You could, for example, put it just slightly out of reach. Maybe you put it behind you and assume a comfortable position so going to check it is just inconvenient enough to prevent you from doing so. The key takeaway here is to place your phone in a manner making it hard to put in the effort to check it.

3. Overpower the urge to check

Sometimes the problem isn’t just access, the problem is the desire to check your phone. It can be very hard to resist when the idea of checking it pops up in your head. You could find yourself stuck going with your impulse and then even if you intended to check quickly you might end up wasting minutes or hours scrolling. Stop yourself from going down this spiral by controlling the urge to check your phone to begin with.

As soon as the thought comes to mind, control it. Counter the thought with another thought or by directing your mind to something else. Use your willpower to overcome the urge to check your phone. Try simply not allowing yourself to give in if the urge presents itself.

4. Leave a digital note for yourself

This one really depends on your phone, your settings and what options you have. Something you can consider is putting a digital note either on an unlock screen or on the first page of apps. Leave a reminder for yourself not to continue using your phone. This way the note can serve as a mental nudge to stop you from going any further.

5. Change your app and phone settings

Again, this depends on what is available to you, but generally you should be able to filter out only important notifications/calls and silence the others. Your phone may have a do not disturb type setting which allows you to control what notifications you do vs. do not want to receive when it is activated. This can prevent you from opening up your phone to check a notification and getting stuck on it longer than you should.

6. Do something else

If you’re sitting around doing nothing it is easy to end up using your phone just to fill time. Well, first of all, doing nothing once in a while is actually a good idea. But you can also do something entertaining off of your phone to pass time. Exercise, read a book, talk to family or friends or do whatever else. Ideally, this will distract you from your cell and you will be less likely to use it.