This article will help you figure out how to cure your phone addiction.
I am going to give you a simple, practical method, that works in the real world, and which you can start implementing RIGHT away.
I’ll be dividing this article into 3 sections:
- Just how bad phone addictions are for us.
- How to cure your phone addiction —> using the Who What When Where Why Method for Moderating Behavior.
- Five additional tips for how to use your phone less, which I’ve found really helpful. The above method is most effective when coupled with some of these tips.
Section 1: Just How Bad Phone Addictions Are for Us
A while back, I realized my phone addiction was really detracting from my life.
I was spending hours and hours on my phone every day.
What’s worse, I noticed I was checking my phone constantly, even when I had no real reason too.
I felt compelled to answer every email RIGHT away.
When I was having fun hanging out with my wife, I would start looking at my phone and it would take me away from enjoying the moment with her.
When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did was look at my phone.
And at night, my phone would keep me up late and mess up my sleep schedule.
The remarkable thing is, I probably wasn’t much worse than most people.
The average smartphone owner unlocks their phone 150 times a day.
And people spend an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes on their phones every day of their lives.
More than half of people can’t even go one hour without checking their phone. (Source of stats)
Studies show that phone addictions have many negative effects, including:
- Causing loneliness and depression
- Weakening your ability to focus and think deeply or creatively
- Disturbing your sleep
- Increasing anxiety and stress
- Detracting from your relationships
- And cell phone usage has even been shown to impact your brain, the long-terms effects of which are still being studied
Making things worse, cell phone overuse is often correlated with other bad habits, like an addiction to social media.
So, how do you cure your phone addiction? I am going to share a method with you now that will help you do just that.
Section 2: How to Cure Your Phone Addiction —> Using The Who What When Where Why Method for Moderating Behavior
This is a method I have devised for moderating bad habits.
For some habits, like smoking, you want to eliminate them completely from your life.
However, for other habits, like a phone addiction, you probably don’t want to give it up 100%.
There are people who try cutting out smartphone usage completely for a specified period of time. Often a few days.
And there may be some benefits to this approach.
However, the big con is, it’s such an extreme lifestyle change that most people only do it for a few days. And then go right back to using their phone as often as they did beforehand.
The Who What When Where Why Method is a more moderate approach. In this method, you don’t try to completely eliminate smartphone usage.
Instead, you gradually adjust the times, places, and situations in which you use your phone, until you’ve reached an optimal usage for you.
There are 5 strategies in this method, which I will go through in more detail:
- Who: Limit based on who you are with.
- What: Limit by function.
- When: Limit by time.
- Where: Limit by environment.
- Why: Limit to when you can clearly state why you are using it
The great thing about this method is it is fully customizable.
As I walk through each of the strategies, feel free to apply the ones which make the most sense for you.
Who: Limit Based on Who You Are With
The idea here, is to avoid using your phone around certain people.
Start, by making a “no phone allowed list” and write down the people you don’t want to use your phone around.
Pick whoever makes the most sense for you. It could be a roommate, a family member, a significant other, or whomever.
And then whenever you are around that person or those people, don’t allow yourself to check your phone.
You could also avoid using your phone around ALL people, and only use your phone when you are by yourself.
There are 3 benefits to the “Who” strategy:
- Easy to Remember: It is a really simple way to cut back your phone usage that you can easily remember.
- Builds a Habit: By anchoring your phone restriction to a person (or people in general), over time you will start to form a habit, and whenever you see them your brain automatically associates that as “no phone” time.
- Accountability: Finally, if you wish, you can even have people on your “no phone allowed” list hold you accountable. That is, if they see you checking your phone around them, you give them permission to point it out to you.
If you have trouble following through with this strategy, consider putting your phone away or turning it off when you are with the people on your list.
This method is great if you are someone, like me, whose phone can affect your ability to be in the present moment with people you live with or see regularly.
Of course, if you are alone most of the day, this may not be as relevant to you.
But don’t worry, there are plenty of other strategies I am going to share which will.
What: Limit by Function
The “What” strategy involves limiting the types of things you use your phone for.
Perhaps you allow yourself to use your phone for:
- Calls
- Directions
- Looking at your to-do list
- And banking
But you don’t allow yourself to use your phone to:
- Check social media
- Randomly browse the internet
- And play games
If you want to do those things, tell yourself you have to use a computer or another device.
To make things really work, write out which functions are allowed and which are not. That way, you have explicit guidelines to follow.
The advantage of this strategy is that it allows you to continue to use your phone for productive things, while cutting out the nonproductive aspects.
When: Limit by Time
The “When” strategy involves limiting the time you use your phone.
For instance, you might choose not to allow yourself to use your phone after 9pm.
In terms of the times to restrict yourself, it comes down to your own personal preferences.
- You may prefer not using your smartphone in the morning, to help you start your day off focusing on the most important things you care about.
- Or perhaps you prefer to cut it off at a certain time each night, to help you transition better into sleep.
Side note – if you want more on how to transition better into sleep, check out this article (or the below video) on How to Change the Habit of Sleeping late.
Where: Limit by Environment
The “Where” strategy, involves only using your smartphone in certain places.
For example, you allow yourself to use your phone in the bedroom or when you are on the couch.
But you don’t allow yourself to use your phone in other places, like your home office, the gym, or the grocery store.
If you have trouble following through with this, you could consider not bringing your phone into the places on your “not allowed list,” if feasible.
Why: Limit to When You Can Clearly State Why You Are Using It
The “Why” strategy involves only using your phone when you can state a clear and compelling reason for WHY you are going to use it.
For this to really work, you have to actually say the reason out loud (or to yourself in your head), BEFORE you pick up your phone.
For example:
- “I am going to turn on my phone to deposit a check using my bank’s app.”
- “I will pick up my phone and look up directions to Chipotle.”
- “I need to use my phone to call my grandma.”
And then the key is to put your phone down as soon as you finish the thing you stated. Don’t shift to doing something else.
If you can clearly state why you are using your phone, you are more likely to have a legitimate reason for doing it.
And you will eliminate all those times you check your phone for no reason at all, just out of habit.
The Who What When Where Why Method (For How to Cure Your Phone Addiction & Other Problem Behaviors)
And that’s the Who What When Where Why Method for moderating behavior, as it applies to a phone addiction.
Remember, this is fully customizable, so feel free to mix and match these different strategies to form the best system for you.
Now, I’d like to share several other tips that have really helped me use my phone less often.
Section 3: Five Additional Tips For How to Cure Your Phone Addiction
Tip #1: Understand the Reason for Your Phone Addiction
Think about WHY you use your phone so much.
The next time you are on your phone, pay more attention to what is compelling you to use it.
Is it due to…
- Escapism?
- A feeling that you will miss out on something?
- Pressure to be as responsive as possible to emails?
- Or is it simply a crutch you use when bored or feeling awkward socially?
Once you identify what it is that compels you to use your phone too often, it will be easier to identify ways to address it.
For instance:
- If it is a crutch you use when you are feeling awkward around people, maybe you can practice introducing a new topic of conversation in those moments instead.
- Or if you feel a craving to indulge yourself in some escapism, perhaps you could find an alternative way to entertain yourself – like reading and losing yourself in a book.
Tip #2: Block Out Time to Do Things in Batches
If you are like me, you have a strong compulsion to respond to emails, texts, or social media communications right away.
But it is much more efficient to answer these messages in batches, at a few pre-determined periods of the day.
You can apply this same strategy to other things you do on your phone as well.
For instance, you might allow yourself to play a game you really like for 30 minutes after you get back from work. Instead of playing it randomly throughout the day.
Tip #3: Adjust Phone Settings and Features to Reduce Interruptions
There are many ways to adjust your phone settings to reduce the chance of it distracting you.
Including:
- Turning off notifications.
- Putting it on silent and/or using “do not disturb” mode.
- Deleting apps you are addicted to.
- Moving any addicting apps you see on the first page onto later pages. That way you don’t see them every time you open your phone.
Personally, I deleted almost all games and distracting apps from my phone. I also keep my phone on “do not disturb” most of the entire day.
Note, if you do this, you can set a few emergency contacts so someone can reach you if something serious comes up.
Tip #4: Don’t Transfer Your Addiction to Another Device
One thing you should be particularly careful about is hopping from one bad habit to another.
What’s the point of stopping your phone addiction if you’re just going to do everything you used to do on your computer or tablet instead?
One way around this is to limit other devices simultaneously. You can apply the Who What When Where Why Method to other devices as well.
Just make sure not to go too extreme.
If the limitations are overly strict, it will be difficult to stick with your system for the long run.
And making a long-term change in your life is going to have far more impact than going hardcore for a short period of time.
It can also help to try to find something positive to replace the time you used to spend on your phone with something else.
Such as:
- Reading
- Spending time with friends
- Or working out
You can’t replace something with nothing.
So, it helps to think through what else you will spend your time on if your phone usage goes down.
Tip #5: Give Yourself Flexibility and Understanding
Phone addictions are tough to get rid of so things are probably not going to go perfectly.
Therefore, it’s important to forgive yourself if you mess up one day and use your phone more than you planned.
That’s probably going to happen and is no big deal.
The key is just to keep moving forward, and don’t give up trying to cut back on your addiction just because you had one bad day.
Also, don’t be afraid to modify your plan or add some exceptions if you are finding it not realistic to implement in the real world.
It’s all about experimenting and seeing what works best for you.
Just make sure you don’t add so many exceptions that you aren’t really cutting down on your phone usage at all.
Conclusion
By using the Who What When Where Why Method along with the additional tips I provided, you should be in a great spot to cure your phone addiction.
Or at least use it a little less often :-).
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