An addiction is when the thing
you are addicted to begins to control your life and interferes with your daily
activities, work, and relationships. The classical definition of an alcoholic
is someone who wakes up to a glass of vodka instead of a cup of coffee.
But with the boom of technology, the signs of addiction can also be found
in other places besides the bottom of a glass, it can also be found in the form
of cell phones.If you find yourself checking your phone first thing in the morning—before
even getting out of bed, you may be addicted. If you find you’re
text-messaging while driving, checking your phone instead of working on an
important assignment, or checking Facebook during a romantic dinner—your phone
is interfering with your life and you are addicted.
Here are five tips to manage
your phone addiction.
1. The first 30 minutes of
your day
If you find yourself waking up
in the morning reaching to check in with your phone before you even get out of
bed, this is a serious problem. The first 30 minutes upon awakening should be
dedicated to creating a good start to your day. This means getting out of bed,
freshening up, taking 5 minutes to meditate and stretch and preparing a healthy
breakfast. Start your day doing healthy, positive things to build your inner
fortitude to take on the day ahead.
2. Create No-Phone Time Zones
The truth of the matter is
having a cell phone close by at work is common, and sometimes even required.
Whether the ding of your phone is work-related or not—that specific phone alert
is rarely related to the current work at hand. If you are constantly getting
distracted by your phone going off—you won’t remain focused on the work in
front of you, decreasing productivity. Therefore, create a no-phone time-zone.
This means that for at least 2 hours of your day(when you’re most productive
work happens) you close off your phone and stay completely dedicated to the
work in front of you.
3. Turn your Phone Off When
You Get Into The Car
Just as in an aircraft you are
asked to power off your electronic devices and cell phones, this should be the
law of the road. It is impossible for your mind to be at two places at once. It
is a law of physics: no one thing can occupy the same space at the same time,
and if your mind and eyes are on your phone, they are not on the road. Driving
is one of those places where you do not want to mess around. When driving—close
off your phone so that you are not even tempted to look at it. Your life and
other people’s lives are at stake.
4. Get Real
When you are with a real life
person sharing a conversation, a meal, or a cup of coffee, they are a real life
form. A real person right there in front of you to engage with. Are you telling
me that your virtual friends and virtual text conversations are more important
than the real life person in front of you? Not only is this THE rudest thing on
the planet, but it breaks down friendships and can ruin relationships. Even if
you say to a friend “Oh I just need to check that,” They may respond “Oh,
that’s OK.” But the truth is it’s not OK. What you are saying is that the
virtual message is more important than them. They have taken time out of their
busy life to meet with you, and share real life time with you. By turning your
attention away from them you are inevitably saying “You are not as important.”
It’s really a sickness that we are so addicted to our phones that we ignore the
people we are with to hang out with virtual people over Facebook, Twitter, and
text messages.
5. Don’t Lose Sleep over It
If you find yourself up late
at night playing on your phone, whether it is video games, Facebook, or text
messaging, you are losing precious sleep over your addiction. The moment you
stop putting energy into caring for your basic needs and pour your time and
energy into your phone, you are allowing the phone to dictate your health and
well-being. If you catch yourself in this scenario, power off your phone an
hour before bed time to ensure that your last hour is spent in a meaningful
way, and that you get to bed on time to start the next day afresh. Your phone
is just not worth losing sleep over.
Do you find yourself in one of
these scenarios? What’s your plan of action to ensure that your phone isn’t
dictating your life?
Culled:LifeHack
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