breaking our phone addictions

the empty uw-richland campus

welcome to part one of my summer series! we are diving right into it with a very wild topic: phone addiction! this is something that's been on my mind for a longggg time. as i've tried to create a healthy relationship with my phone over the past few years, sometimes i want to throw my phone in a river, but then i come back to the reality of how useful phones are... so i have learned again & again that balance is key. but trust me, there are so many ways to take control over your phone instead of letting it control you. i hope these ideas help you have more peace & time away from your phone!

below are my best tips for breaking your phone addiction--they have helped me so much!! as for all kinds of addictions, big or small, it's super important to first examine the root cause. why do you go on your phone so much? is it avoiding hard things to be done, emotions to be felt, or distracting you from pain? is it a way to feel validated by others, or connected when you're lonely? is it an escape? finding the deeper reason of why you use your phone as a coping mechanism is the first and most crucial tip i have. you can do all the things i suggest, but if you don't know why you rely on your phone too much, then nothing will truly solve the problem. now for the rest of my advice!

kate's tips for making your phone less addicting:

1. turn off as many notifications as possible (only keep the few ones you need)

2. put your phone to bed... but not by your bed (airplane mode on, far away from your bedroom!)

3. turn off your watch history on youtube so you can’t scroll (or delete youtube, i use it for yoga & workouts so this was a good middle ground for me)

4. mute as many group chats as possible (i mute them all & then see updates when i text people)

5. delete email off your phone !!! (this sounded crazy to me at first, but guys it is the best! gmail is fine living on your computer! trust me!)

6. delete all apps you don’t use, put the rest into bubbles & make them tinted (destimulate yourself, use less strorage, spend less time searching, and maintain a more aesthetic vibe)

7. remove netflix/other streaming services (it's super easy to redownload them when you want to watch something & then delete them when you're done)

8. put your phone in spanish//target language (more confusing, less appealing, good practice...)

9. take off games if you have any (play real games or just live your life)

10. set your downtime early in the evening and late in the morning (i set mine earlier than i go to bed to help me stop texting people & actually have time for my bedtime routine. it's the best & i highly recommend it. you can always change your schedules or turn them off but it's a nice texting blocker)

11. delete social media (whole post coming on this, but delete snapchat, it's stupid, facebook & instagram are also crazy & i wish i got rid of them way earlier. tiktok is obviously wild so please never get it if you haven't already. for any of these, try a detox for a week & you'll see)

12. get the bepresent app (keeps you accountable with screen time data, you can block apps, set schedules, etc. i love their bedtime block!)

13. blue light filter after sunset/at night (shorcut that allows you to turn your phone red! so crucial for sleep... try it out and thank me later... here's a tutorial)

14. send audio messages instead of texting (don't let them replace calling but when you really can’t call or see someone, don't spend forever typing out a message! let them hear your voice! you can easily record them through the texting app. also, make sure to change your settings so that voice messages from others don't disappear after two minutes, but stay forever. it's a weird default setting)

15. have no phone days (i started doing this on sundays back in january--i power my phone off completely for as much of the day as possible. it has given me so much peace, quality time, and rest from the world! i plan on doing it forever and i can't recommend it enough)

16. leave your phone in your bag/car/house more often (why bring it? why have it out?)

17. replace your phone with prayer (so much of screen time is to fill space in our days. but why can't we fill it with prayer? or talking to others around us? or just soaking in life? thinking? feeling? exisiting?)

18. make a list of things to do when you want to reach for your phone (carry a notebook, a digital camera, a book, something to croquet, a guitar... there's literally one million options)

19. schedule calls with friends and them instead of texting them (make time for real connecton. it's worth it, always. texting is crazy when you think about it)

20. don’t eat with your phone!! (such a bad thing for your digestion, takes away the beauty of eating amazing food, of just being present and having a good meal)

21. go outside first thing in the morning instead of looking at your phone (get sunlight in your eyes first before blue light! helps with anxiety, circadian rhythm, productivity, happiness :)

22. move around/hide any addicting apps often (forget where they are, disrupt muscle memory)

23. involve the Lord! (don’t do it in your own strength--there are so many forces working to keep you addicted to your screens, so be kind to yourself. but also, God wants to help you :) involve Him!) if you want to study this, here are some verses that i found: matthew 26:41 / 1 john 2:15 / romans 6:12 / 1 corinthians 10:12-13 / romans 7:17-20 / james 4:7-8, 10 / galations 5:22-25

    
    

you can find tips and tricks all over the internet, but it's really about finding what works for you and deciding for yourself what kind of role you want your phone to play in your life. be intentional, and you will be blessed!! it's crazy how different life feels when you're free from screens. it's so, so much better. every time.

sending you lots of encouragement in your journey! you got this <3

see you next week for part two of the series, & until then,

keep dreaming my friends!

xo, kate