Get your life back!

Lost without your phone? Exhausted? Unable to relax or focus? The consequences of becoming that reliant on our digital toys could be very serious. So maybe it's time to consider going on a smartphone detox to reset ourselves. Here are seven tips to free yourself from your smartphone:

a.       ……….: Put your phone away when you absolutely don’t need it. When you’re out with your friends or are trying to get some exercise in, really live in that moment. You don’t need to be looking at your phone every few minutes. Start with 15 minutes at a time and build from there.

b.      ……….: Put your phone away while you and your family eat dinner, and make it a rule for everyone at the table! It’s the one time of day everyone is usually together, so it’s nice to catch up without distractions. Try creating a Digital Box or Basket where all of the phones have to be put before sitting at the table.

c.       ……….: Try to only charge your phone once each day. So you’ll stop using your phone for meaningless web surfing or game playing because you want to save your battery for the most important things. A great way to do so is to not use your phone when you are bored. Keep it away when you are standing in a line, are waiting for someone at a restaurant or meeting or are just plain bored.

d.      ……….: Turn off notifications that aren’t totally necessary. This will greatly decrease the amount of time you look at your phone. A lot of those notifications are meaningless, and not worth distracting you from what you are doing at the moment.

e.      ……….: Don’t use your phone after 10 pm…Or at least an hour before you go to bed. This will not only help you disconnect from the phone, but it will also help you sleep better!

f.        ……….: Download a phone usage app and limit yourself to two hours a day. This might be hard, and you will definitely feel uncomfortable at first. But in the end, it will be worth it! For apps to help with this, try Moment, BreakFree, and OffTime.

g.       ……….: When the family is all together, potentially on a Sunday, designate the morning or afternoon as media free; no phones, devices or TV. You’ll be surprised how much time you’ll have for other things.