7. How to break up with your phone? 15 tips to take back control of your life

Toolkit for Quarterlife

What’s your screen time today?

Do you feel happier after checking your phone?

What else can you do with that time? What do you want to pay attention to in your life?
In this episode, you’ll discover how phones and apps are designed to be addictive, and learn how the time we spend on them damages our abilities to focus, think deeply, and form new memories. You’ll then make customised changes to your settings, apps, environment, and mindset that will ultimately enable you to take back control of your life.
Intention prompt

• I’ve always loved to …
• I’ve always wanted to …
• When I was a kid, I was fascinated by …
• If I had more time, I would like to …
• Some activities that I know put me into flow are …
• People I would like to spend more time with include …

Check-in prompt

• What parts of your relationship with your phone are going well?
• What things about your relationship with your phone do you want to change? What’s one thing you could do to start?
• What are you doing - or could do - to strengthen your focus?
• What are your goals for the next 30 days?
• What fun plans could you make to spend time with people you care about?
• Have your reinstalled any of the apps that you previously deleted, let you phone back into your bedroom, or turned notifications back on? If so, does it feel like the right decisions?
• What do you want to pay attention to in your life?

Timestamps

[03:58] how to tell you use your phone too much

[04:50] how phones alters our brain, impair memory, attention and creativity

[14:08] it’s not all fault: how phone brain hacks us

[20:35] leverage technology to fight technology

[28:22] if you don’t shape your environment, your environment will shape you

[31: 50] make our new habits stay
Get in touch

Email: [e-mail]
Resources

How to break up with your phone

Willpower doesn’t work

Keep going

Could you live without a smartphone? | Anastasia Dedyukhina | TEDxWandsworth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNQujCwCu88

Phone Addiction: Warning Signs And Treatment: https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/phone-addiction/

7 Things To Know if You Think You're Addicted to Your Phone: https://www.health.com/condition/anxiety/cell-phone-addiction

Smartphone compulsion test: https://virtual-addiction.com/smartphone-compulsion-test/

The Optimal iPhone Settings and Best Apps for Productivity, Focus, and Health: https://betterhumans.pub/how-to-set-up-your-iphone-for-productivity-focus-and-your-own-longevity-bb27a68cc3d8#2377

The darkly soothing compulsion of 'doomscrolling': https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210226-the-darkly-soothing-compulsion-of-doomscrolling

6 Ways to Overcome Your Mindless Scrolling Habit: https://www.makeuseof.com/ways-to-overcome-mindless-scrolling-habit/

Nothing Beneficial Comes From Mindless Scrolling: https://www.howtogeek.com/777940/nothing-beneficial-comes-from-mindless-scrolling/