33: How to Make Your Phone Less of a Distraction & More Like A Tool

Design Test Improve

In this episode, we share our thoughts on how to use your smartphone as a tool rather than a distraction. We discuss the impact we believe smartphones have had on our society, our personal relationship with them, and we share some tactics you can use to help you minimize your smartphone's negative influences in your daily life.
Tools & Content Mentioned:

• Video – How to Turn Your Phone Screen Grey
• Book – Digital Minimalism
• App – Freedom
• App – Forest
• App – Flora
• Product – KSafe

Call-To-Action

• Reflect on your current relationship with your smartphone:
  • How much time are you spending on your phone? Are you comfortable with the amount of screen time you see?
  • What apps are taking up most of your time?
  • What could you be doing with that time instead?
  • Are you comfortable being alone with your thoughts? Or do you notice you have a need to be constantly connected / distracted?
• After you reflect on some of the negative influences your smartphone has on you, start to incorporate tactics to reduce these negative influences:
  • Turn off most notifications from your phone except what you think is useful
  • Set up your phone layout to help you not get sucked into going on your phone
    • Hide social media apps (if you have them on your phone) in folders, or consider deleting apps you waste a lot of time on.
• Create rules for yourself when it comes to using your phone
  • Example: When starting a working/studying session I will put my phone out of sight
• Set up focus modes to further control what notifications you get during the day