How To Start Breaking The Habit Of Picking Up Your Phone: 5 Tips!

Breaking The Habit Of Picking Up Your Phone 

One of the best things you can do to take control of your life and your mental health is to start breaking the habit of picking up your phone several dozen times a day or more. Because that is what it’s become for most of us. A well-established habit created by a positive feedback loop that is surprisingly hard to break. 

The Habit Loop

A typical day in your life can probably be divided up into several different tasks and habits, all running at the same time.

For example, getting out of bed in the morning, brushing your teeth, and taking a shower could easily be six or seven separate tasks that you do every single day. Breaking any one of them doesn’t serve to break the whole cycle, but there is one particular type of task that can be really hard to resist.

We like to call them rewards. An excellent example of this is checking your phone for messages or social media updates. Every time you check it, you get a reward in that moment for doing so – maybe a nice comment on your latest selfie or a new message.

It’s only once all the notifications are dealt with that you have to face whatever task was at hand before being allowed to check your phone again.

Breaking this cycle resets the habit and allows you to get back on track more easily by avoiding some triggers.

The Breaking Process

One of the simplest ways to break this cycle is to avoid all triggers that keep you hooked on your phone. This means not keeping your phone on you while completing other tasks or activities. For example, you’re walking through town, put your phone in your pocket, or try leaving it at home for a while and see how that feels.

The same principle goes if you want to go out for dinner or to a movie without checking your phone every few minutes: don’t bring it with you in the first place!

A simple way to avoid using your phone as much is to leave it in your bag when you’re not using it.

Try turning off the alerts to avoid getting interrupted or distracted. Breaking this habit can be hard, but it’s worth the effort because while you may think that checking social media every few minutes is no big deal, it creates an anxiety loop where you want to check again because you can.

Breaking it by not carrying your phone with you or turning off the alerts will eventually get easier so long as you focus on breaking this habit rather than trying to go cold turkey.

It would help if you found out exactly how bad this habit has become for you. One of the best ways to accomplish this is installing an app that tracks your phone usage.

How often do you pick it up? How much total time do you spend on your device per day, week, or month? How long do you look at your phone on average each time you pick it up?

There are plenty of free and paid apps to accomplish this. Choose one, install it and then come back in a week or two and see how you did. The results will surprise you.

Where do you start?

Start to ban the phone from certain places. For example, please don’t take it into the bedroom and put it away at mealtime.

Stick it in a drawer if you have to so you won’t be tempted to check messages. This alone will make you more aware of how often you reach for your phone. 

Instead of thinking, I know I’ll have a quick check to see what’s happening with the world, you will be forced to think about whether or not it’s appropriate to pull your phone out.

Stop Worrying About Notifications

We are all now so accustomed to receiving notifications that many of us don’t even hear them anymore. In addition, most alerts are so brief that they are hardly noticeable, so the only way to know whether you have received something is by checking your phone.

On the other hand, there are some people who hear their notifications like an alarm. It’s almost impossible for them to resist the urge to pick up the phone when it’s beeping or blinking, and you know there’s something for you to check. Even when you’re 90% sure it’s nothing important.

Breaking this habit will help you save time because you won’t be fumbling around for it every few minutes anymore. Instead of using your phone as a distraction, try putting it away while doing other things and see if that helps you focus.

Have a Weekend Getaway

Break up with your phone for a weekend. Put it away, and don’t use it for a solid 48 hours or longer if you can swing it.

You’re breaking the cycle of constant reinforcement that picking up your phone brings.

While this kind of detox for a short time won’t cure you of the habit, it will help make you more aware of when you reach for your phone, thus putting you back in control instead of the other way around. 

Utilize Apps

Use apps like Space or Screentime to limit how much you’re able to use your phone. Setting boundaries is a good thing, and like the detox, it will help you become more aware of your phone habits.

If an app isn’t your thing, ask family and friends to call you out when you pick up your phone in their presence. 

Breaking the habit of picking up your phone won’t be easy, but it is well worth the effort. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how much extra time you have in your day and how much less stressed you’ll feel when you are no longer tied to your phone twenty-four-seven. 

What rewards do you get?

But what about the rewards? If you’re trying to break a phone addiction, it may seem like there’s no point in checking social media or messages if you aren’t getting the same feedback loop that brings pleasure. Well, that doesn’t have to be true!

You can still check your feeds or messages normally without picking up the phone. One of the simplest ways to do this is by using a computer, as social media sites are all linked to your account online anyway.

Log in from there instead and check your messages or feeds when you would typically pick up your phone. Those notifications won’t be directly linked to checking your device, which could help break the cycle.

If you’re really struggling, try using another phone or device for social media entirely so that the only place where notifications are received is on your primary device.

There are plenty of other types of apps available for this purpose – find one that works best for you and stick with it!

Breaking this habit will be difficult at first, but it’s well worth the effort to focus on what you need to do without being distracted.

Let me know in the comments how you plan to break up with your phone!

Talk soon,

Andie 🙂