7 Ways to Ditch Your Phone and Focus on What Matters

Are you tired of being addicted to your phone? Do you want to be more present in the moment? Here are seven practical thing you can do now that will make a real difference.

(1) Turn off push notifications.

Settings > Notifications > Edit for each app

It’s said that it takes thirty minutes for the mind to recover from a distraction and reach full focus again. But when your phone is always buzzing and beeping, are you ever actually focussed at all? Imagine the clarity of thought that you could have, if you weren’t so often distracted by your phone? Most of your notifications don’t require you to take immediate action. Do you really need to know about it, every time somebody likes your photograph? Every time the BBC or New York Times puts out a new feature? Every time something happens somewhere online? Ask yourself which notifications you really need the moment they happen, and which can wait for later.

(2) Don’t check emails on your phone.

Settings > Accounts > Swipe Mail “Off”

Even those of us who don’t send and receive many emails can find ourselves constantly checking for new mail. We actually crave the small dopamine-hit. We feel like we’re winning. But in truth, if you’re constantly checking for new emails, you’re probably distracted. You’re probably just procrastinating. I only access emails on my laptop, and even then, I only check twice-a-day, at 11AM and 4PM. Batching tasks, like checking email, is incredibly effective. It is highly unlikely that any email requires such urgent activity that you cannot check email only once, twice, or three times a day.

(3) Disable Safari.

Settings > General > Restrictions > Swipe Safari “Off”

Sure, it can be handy for looking things up, for satiating curiosity by “just googling it,” but the constant need to check your phone can distract you from being present in the moment. Disabling Safari, or whatever other internet browser you use, will help you to enjoy your surroundings and focus on the people around you. It will also help you to simply be; to be comfortable in your own skin, to inhabit your own mind, to enjoy the wandering of your own thoughts. When I need to browse the internet, I use my laptop.

(4) Minimise social media.

Within social media account > Settings > Deactivate account

How many different social media do you need to use? Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (lol), Instagram, Snapchat — there is so much choice! Ask youself, which social media are actually contributing value to your life, are helping you to learn, grow, and expand, or allowing you to meaningfully connect with people? Which social media are wasting your time?

(5) Make a blank home-screen.

Tap and hold an app on the home-screen > Drag to desired screen

Some of us have become so addicted to our phones that we mindlessly and unconsciously check them for new notifications every five minutes. Even if nothing new comes up, we cannot help but open up Facebook and start scrolling. Only after we’ve numbed our brains over memes and cat-videos, do we realise that ten minutes has passed and that we’re wasting time. One way to check yourself before this mindless activity begins is to make the first screen that you see upon unlocking phone totally blank, with no apps. Just move them over to the next screen. Trust me on this. It works.

(6) When you’re at home, keep it in one place.

When you are at home, try to keep your phone in one place. I keep mine in a small basket on the window-sill of the main living-area. As much as you can, keep your phone away from the desk or dinner table during the day and the bed during the night. Your work, your friends and family, and your sleep will thank you for it. Use the Pomodoro method for work (twenty-five minutes on, five minutes off) and only check your phone in the short breaks. When I forget to check my phone for a whole afternoon, I feel great!

(7) When you go out, leave it at home.

This is maybe the hardest one, but also the most transformative. For many of us, going out with a phone in our pocket seems just as necessary as wearing shoes. But do you really need to take your phone, or is it just going to detract from allowing yourself to be fully present in whatever you’re doing? Whenever you head out— going for a gentle stroll, buying groceries, running outdoors, meeting someone for coffee, having a dinner-date — consider leaving your phone at home.

Thank you for reading. The Coffeehouse Cleric is a Medium publication dedicated to asking the big questions of life. It features writing on three main areas: minimalism, spirituality, and learning. If you enjoyed this piece and it helped you in any way, please do share it with friends and family.