Cell phones. They are seen in almost everyone’s hands at almost every waking moment. Whether it is before we head to bed at night, wake up in the morning, or throughout the day it is an understatement that phones have taken over the lives of this generation. Though not present for much of human history, mobile phones are used on a day-to-day basis largely replacing much of our social interactions at dinnertime, school, and even hang-outs with friends. I took a shot at breaking my own phone use habits to hopefully inspire more people on our campus to do the same.
A tip I have used numerous times in the past but decided to employ more rigorously is the Apple iPhone “Focus” mode. Essentially, I set my phone on a lockdown mode to avoid receiving messages, app notifications, and alert sounds from select apps and contacts. I also manually disabled notifications from my largest consumed apps like Instagram, Twitter, and Discord, making it intentionally more tedious to respond to pings. Next, I challenged myself to the 30-30 rule—which no doubt tested my discipline skills—where I would not be able to pick up my phone 30 minutes before bed and 30 minutes after waking up.
With these measures laid out in front of me, it was not an easy task to keep up with for an entire school week. Believe it or not, being forced to break years of a habit is no easy task.
In addition to this change, I made it a routine to leave my phone in my room whenever I had to be in other parts of the house, forcing myself to physically separate my body from my phone. While I was not completely cut off from the Internet, I found that within the first couple of days, I was able to complete my schoolwork faster. Due to my phone’s “Focus” mode being turned on throughout the day, I had less reason to pick up my phone or listen out for its pings and vibrations. Charging my phone away from my bedside came in addition to helping remove urges to reach for it at night. As a result, I was able to stay focused when reviewing a textbook section, filling out my mathematics worksheet, or writing my English journals.
The most effective aspect that I learned was physical separation from my phone. At times before this experiment, it was easy to reach for my phone, only intending to use it for a little while, and finding myself getting sidetracked because of a new notification. This case was especially common during dinnertime where halfway through the meal, I would eventually be glued to my phone screen while the food turned cold. However, post-experiment, I established a good balance of efficient phone time use and an increased physical presence in the world around me.
Not going to sleep or waking up to a bright LED screen made a huge difference in how I ended and started my days. Though at first, it seemed like I had nothing to do in the morning, I decided to try new routines such as boiling tea, preparing meals, or even getting some extra sleep.
One thing I have come to learn out of this experience is that even making small attempts to break bad habits provides me the opportunity to fill that headspace with more beneficial, self-improving measures. What phones have trained our bodies to respond to is instant gratification — short-form videos that people find themselves watching for hours or feeds to scroll through. Though breaking these routines can be a hard task in the short term, even five days can open your eyes to an entire world of possibilities.