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Smartphones are magical.<\/p>\n
A device that\u2019s small enough to fit in your pocket, allows you to instantly communicate with virtually anyone on earth, take breathtaking photos, and access humanity\u2019s collected knowledge. Amazing!<\/p>\n
But like any magical implement, the smartphone\u2019s power can be so consuming that all you want to do is stare into its comforting, glowing, little screen and cling to it like Gollum does his \u201cPrecious\u201d in The Lord of the Rings<\/em>.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly a growing number of people feel disconcerted with the insatiable pull their phones exercise on them, and are unhappy with the amount of time and attention they give to these devices in return. When I talked with professor Cal Newport on my podcast<\/a> about what smartphones are doing to our minds, the discussion seemed to really resonate with a lot of you. I received a sack full of letters from readers sharing their frustration with their smartphone use and how it\u2019s hurt their relationships, and gotten in the way of not only doing productive and meaningful work, but being fully present in their lives.<\/p>\n Many of you also wanted to know the names of the apps I mentioned on the podcast that I personally have found helpful in managing my own smartphone use. Today I\u2019ll share those apps, while also laying out a more encompassing guide to breaking the smartphone habit. While putting certain access blockers on your phone can be a great help, you also have to take a truly holistic and intentional approach to maintaining a healthy relationship with your phone.<\/p>\n Below I present such a game plan with all the tools and techniques you might consider implementing in order to get a handle on your smartphone habit. I really couldn\u2019t find a comparable resource online, so I\u2019ve made this article pretty robust, with ideas that can work regardless of your situation in life, how you want\/need to use your smartphone for business and pleasure, and which phone you use.<\/p>\n For ease in sorting through it all and figuring out which approach might work best for you, I\u2019ve 1) created a flow chart, and 2) offered a summary of what I\u2019ve done in my own life to drastically reduce the amount of time I spend on my smartphone; hopefully it will give you a better grasp of how these apps and techniques can be implemented.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get started, beginning with why you might consider limiting your smartphone use in the first place.<\/p>\n For many folks, checking and twiddling with their smartphone has become a habit boarding on addiction. Many would shrug off this ubiquitous habit as simply a harmless distraction from boredom, and certainly smartphones can be a big positive in our lives — a source of both entertainment and a nearly indispensable tool for business and communication in the modern world.<\/p>\n Yet research shows that heavy smartphone use can also have a deleterious effect on several different aspects of our lives:<\/p>\n Loss of empathy and connection with others<\/strong>. In Reclaiming Conversation<\/a><\/em>, MIT professor Sherry Turkle highlights research that communication mediated through smartphone screens makes us less empathetic. Texting can be convenient, but we lose the inflections, tone, and facial expressions that are so key in our bonding with and understanding others. (For even more insight on this topic, check out my interview with her on the podcast.<\/a>)<\/p>\n Heck, research shows that simply having a smartphone in our line of sight causes us to pay less attention to the people we\u2019re with and keep our conversations more superficial; when there\u2019s a good chance we\u2019ll be interrupted, we don\u2019t see the point in trying to connect with someone on a deeper level.<\/p>\n While there are lots of factors contributing to the increasing sense of loneliness in Western society, growing smartphone use has certainly played a role.<\/p>\n Loss of sleep.<\/strong> According to surveys<\/a>, 44% of those 18-24 say they fall asleep with their smartphone in their hand, and a quarter say, “I don’t sleep as well as I used to because I am connected to technology all the time.\u201d Smartphone use can negatively impact your sleep<\/a> because its blue light messes with your circadian rhythm, and its pings can awaken you after you\u2019ve dozed off; 4 in 10 adults and teenagers say they\u2019ve checked their phone in the middle of the night after getting a notification. If you\u2019re anxious about how someone\u2019s going to respond to your text, you may also simply have trouble putting the phone aside and falling asleep in the first place.<\/p>\n Loss of focus and the ability to do deep, meaningful work.<\/strong> Even though one of the original selling points of smartphones was their ability to help us get work done on the go, they\u2019re ironically one of the greatest inhibitors of our productivity.<\/p>\n In Deep Work<\/a><\/em>, Cal Newport makes the case that smartphones, along with other digital devices, are training our brains to be constantly distracted. The pings and buzzes of smartphone notifications condition us to stay in a state of divided attention; we can never truly immerse ourselves in a task because there\u2019s a chance we\u2019ll miss something on our phones.<\/p>\n Newport highlights research showing that even when chronic smartphone and computer users shut everything off so they can focus on a single task, the habit of operating with divided attention is so ingrained in their brains, they still have a hard time concentrating. In other words, smartphones atrophy our ability to think and work deeply.<\/p>\n Loss of the ability to be fully present in your life<\/a>.<\/strong> More people reach for their smartphone first thing in the morning than their significant other. People spend an average of 8 hours a day on their laptops and smartphones, and 81% say they have their phone switched on all the time. Over half of Millennials say they check and use their phone \u201cconstantly.\u201d<\/p>\n Each time you look down at your phone\u2019s screen, you\u2019re not looking at something else in your environment. You\u2019re not looking at your kids, or the beautiful scenery on a trip, or the friend who\u2019s sitting right across from you. You\u2019re not present. By giving your phone hours of your life, day after day, what might you be missing out on<\/a>?<\/p>\n Click to view larger image<\/a> Flowchart by David B. Dial<\/p><\/div>\n Are you tired of being unable to really engage in conversations with your friends because you\u2019re always checking your phone? Do you feel guilty about how often your kids catch you staring at a screen when you should be interacting with them? Are you sick of ending each day bemoaning your utter lack of focus and productivity at work, and how little progress you\u2019re making on your goals?<\/p>\n While the bad news is that chronic smartphone use can have a negative impact on your life, the good news is that research demonstrates that the restless, distraction-producing itch they exercise on us can be reversed. It just takes some work and discipline to get a handle on your habit. Here’s how to do it:<\/p>\n The first step in breaking the smartphone habit is to measure how much time you\u2019re actually spending on your phone throughout the day. Seeing how you\u2019re using it will allow you to make more intentional and mindful decisions about the kind of relationship you want to have with your phone.<\/p>\n Heck, just seeing hard numbers on how much time you\u2019re spending on your phone can affect your use. When I saw that I checked my smartphone 100 times in a day, I immediately started checking it less.<\/p>\n Thanks to a few apps out there, auditing your smartphone use is pretty easy. Android has more robust tracking apps than the iPhone thanks to the openness of the Android platform. So you\u2019ll find that most of the apps I list are Android (this will be a re-occurring theme). Many of them not only track your smartphone time, but can also help you manage that time, which will come in handy in \u201cdumbifying\u201d your phone, which we\u2019ll discuss below.<\/p>\n Auditing Apps Available for Both iPhone and Android<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Checky.<\/a><\/strong> This app shows you how many times you\u2019ve checked your smartphone a day and allows you to compare stats day to day. While it doesn\u2019t show you how much time you\u2019re spending within each app on your phone, just seeing how many times you pick up your phone and swipe the unlock screen can provide some much-needed perspective on your smartphone use.<\/p>\n Auditing Apps Available for Android Only<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n RescueTime.<\/a><\/strong> RescueTime is a paid service that allows you track how much time you spend on certain websites and even how long you use certain apps on your computer and smartphone. You simply create an account with RescueTime, install the app on your smartphone, and the software takes care of the rest.<\/p>\n At the end of each week, RescueTime will send you an email report that gives you a breakdown of how much time you spent within each app on your smartphone.<\/p>\n QualityTime.<\/a><\/strong> QualityTime is another Android app that tracks app usage and gives you detailed breakdowns of how much time you\u2019re spending on each. You can set time limits for each app and QualityTime will send you a warning when you\u2019re getting close to your limit. You can even block certain time-wasting apps.<\/p>\n Auditing App Available for iPhone Only<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Moment.<\/a><\/strong> While Moment doesn\u2019t tell you how much time you\u2019re spending within each app on your iPhone, it gives you an overall look at how much time you spend on your phone each day. Moment allows you to set time limits on your iPhone usage, and once you reach it, the app will block you from using your device.<\/p>\n Pick a tracking app and use it for a week. Use your smartphone as you usually do (though, that\u2019s hard because once you start observing a particular behavior, that behavior typically changes). By the end of the week, you should have a rough idea of how often you\u2019re checking your smartphone and exactly how you\u2019re using it.<\/p>\n Alright. It\u2019s been a week, and you have a good idea of how much you\u2019re using your smartphone and what apps you\u2019re using. Maybe you\u2019re so appalled by the results of your smartphone audit that you decide the best course of action is to completely chuck your smartphone altogether and downgrade to a rudimentary \u201cdumbphone\u201d that just allows you to make calls and send simple text messages.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s what you decide to do, you\u2019ll be in good company. In recent years there\u2019s been a burgeoning \u201cdumbphone movement\u201d in which individuals deliberately choose to opt out of the culture of hyper-connectedness by using cell phones that looks like the one you owned back in 2001. By eliminating the ability to access apps on their phones, these retronauts eliminate the temptation to constantly check them.<\/p>\n Ironically, many of the developers and business execs in Silicon Valley who are making addiction-inducing smartphone apps, count themselves as members of the dumbphone movement. By going with the dumbphone, they\u2019re better able to focus on the work of making you less focused. They\u2019re like junk food execs who want to get you hooked on Doritos, but eat a clean paleo diet themselves!<\/p>\n Besides saving your attention span, dumbphones come with other upsides as well. For starters, the devices themselves are significantly cheaper than their high-powered smartphone counterparts and their data plans only cost a few dollars a month. What\u2019s more, dumbphones eliminate the temptation to continually upgrade your device to the latest and greatest. If all you want to do is make calls and send text messages, you don\u2019t need a phone with a built-in heart rate monitor or a screen that will scroll automatically as you read.<\/p>\n Dumbphones also provide more security and privacy than smartphones. Many high-level executives prefer the dumbphone because it poses less of a security risk if it\u2019s lost or stolen. Think about the amount of sensitive data you keep on your smartphone — bank account info in your banking apps, emails, stored passwords, etc. A person with malintent could do a lot of damage if they got ahold of your phone. And if you\u2019re concerned about corporations or the government tracking your every movement around the globe, dumbphones lack GPS.<\/p>\n If switching to a dumbphone seems like the best option for you, here are a few to check out:<\/p>\n Listen to our podcast with Cal Newport about digital minimalism:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThe Negative Effects of Chronic Smartphone Use<\/h3>\n
How to Break the Smartphone Habit<\/u><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Perform an Audit on Your Cell Phone Use<\/h3>\n
Going Nuclear, or Getting a \u201cDumbphone\u201d<\/h3>\n
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