How To Simplify Your Relationship With Your Smartphone

It’s strange to think that smartphones have been in our lives for less than fifteen years. Back in 2006, no one knew what a smartphone was. Now, they’re everywhere. We use them to communicate, to work, to navigate ourselves, to have fun, and so much more. On balance, they’ve had a positive impact on the world. But it would be wrong to say that it has all been positive. There are some downsides to smartphones, too. They can seem to complicate our lives from time to time, rather than making them more straightforward.

That’s why it’s important to put parameters on your usage. You’ll find that you enjoy your smartphone much more than you have a simpler relationship with it. But how? In this blog, we’ll run through some handy tips that’ll ensure your smartphone works for you rather than against you.

How Much Time?

Before you can take steps to simplify your smartphone usage, you’ll need to know what your current usage is like. The biggest problem for most people is that they simply spend too much time staring at their little screens. And this shouldn’t come as too big a surprise — the device and the apps you download are designed to be engaging. So it’s not a fair fight: it’s normal that people spend a lot of time looking at their screens. 

Take a look at your screen time. Is it too much? You can put limits on how much time you spend on a particular app. You’ll get a notification when the time is up, at which point, a little bit of self-control will allow you to put down your phone and do something else.

Clean It Up

It’s a good idea to think of your smartphone in the same way as you would a physical space. You wouldn’t live in a house that was cluttered and dirty — or if you did, you wouldn’t expect to have the most zen attitude in the world. Is your phone the equivalent of a chaotic home? If you’ve got too many apps, photos, phone numbers, and more, then the answer is probably yes. You can move on from this issue by cleaning up your smartphone. This process can involve deleting apps that you no longer use, using a duplicate photo finder to remove unneeded photos, and deleting any numbers of people you know that you won’t contact in the future. Your phone will look and feel much better when you take the minimalist approach to your digital life! 

Limit Notifications

It’s all good and well to put a bit of distance between you and your phone. But what if there are other people who don’t want you to have that distance? One of the good things about smartphones is that you can contact anyone in an instant. But this is also a bad thing. You might finally have broken the hold that your smartphone has over you, but all it might take to get your attention again is the buzzing sound of a notification. The solution? Turn off — or at least limit — the number of notifications that you receive. You really don’t need to be getting notifications from most apps, for instance. They only send them because they want you to open their app.

With messaging notifications, it’s a little more complicated. There’s obviously value in knowing when someone is trying to call you. One option you have here is to set your phone to ‘night mode.’ It’ll block notifications but let through calls if the person rings twice within the space of a minute. 

Social Media Goodness 

It’s not just the phone itself the issue, but what you do on it. If you’re like most people, you probably spend a fair amount of time on social media. But it’s important to remember that who you follow on there might be causing your mental health to decrease. There have been many studies — some by the social media giants themselves — that show social media can have a negative impact on a person’s self-worth. Of course, this is far from a guarantee. It depends on who you’re following. You can improve your relationship with your digital life by only following people that promote goodness. There’s enough negativity in the world — you don’t need to invite it into your digital world too by following unworthy accounts.

Make It Work For You

Everyone has different needs from their device. It’s worthwhile asking yourself what you want from your smartphone. What do you need it for? What don’t you need it for? Everyone’s answers will be different. Once you’ve figured it out, set your phone up so that it meets your needs and nothing more. In doing so, you’ll find that it becomes much easier to work productively or whatever else it is you want to achieve.

Stop Upgrading 

Smartphones don’t just impact your mental and physical health, productivity, and so forth. They’re also expensive. If you’re spending too much on your devices, then stop upgrading. Most new phones are only marginally better than the ones that came before them. You really only need to upgrade every few years. 

Take a Day Off

Finally, what about taking a day off from your smartphone? Most of us automatically spend many hours on our phones each day. How many times have you unlocked it in the last hour, for instance? Many people have gotten so used to looking at a screen that they’ve forgotten what life was like before they had their devices on them. However, you can easily get this feeling back — just turn it off and leave it in a drawer for a day. You might find that you don’t miss it as much as you thought you would.

Conclusion

And there we have it! If you take these tips on board, you’ll go a long way towards saying goodbye to some of the more unwanted elements of your device. You should find that you have more time, your usage is more efficient, and perhaps even that you’re happier. 

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