Price shares with us these TEN lovelyyy
tips to break up bigtime with our mobile phone, and make way for the better,
refined, delightful sensibilities within us, to reclaim our valuable, precious
and little time that we have left for ourselves on planet earth!
The Frostian delighty dictum, ‘miles to
go before I sleep’ would sure reminds us on that, I bet!
The TEN
priceless pearls from Price herself for us all -
From Catherine Price’s lovely book, How
to Break Up With Your Phone
1.
Assess Your Relationship With Your Phone.
Spend time thinking about what you like
about how you use your smartphone, and what you don't like, advises Price.
Then think about not only the
relationship you want to have with your phone, but also the things you want to
do to fill the time you're not on your phone. Make a list, Price recommends.
2.
Reclaim your power.
"No matter what tricks [technology
companies] put into it, they cannot stop you from putting your phone
down," Price said. "You are the one who has the power and this is
your life. How much of your life do you want to spend on the phone?"
3.
Be Aware.
"Right now we’re so trained to just
look down at our phones and 20 minutes later we look up," Price said.
In this step, note to yourself why you
pick up your phone, and how you feel in the moment.
"Get in the habit of asking
yourself, 'How do I feel right now? What is making me reach for my phone? Is it
making you feel good?" Price advised.
Placing a rubber band or hair tie around
your phone is a physical tool that can "jolt you out of autopilot"
when reaching for your phone.
4.
Find a Buddy.
Price said there is "power in
numbers" when stepping away from your smartphone.
"It’s more fun and more effective if
you do it with other people," she said.
5.
Create 'Speed Bumps' For Yourself.
There are apps that can help you spend
less time on other apps. Price recommends apps like Freedom and Moment to track
your usage and set time restraints.
Another tool recommended by Price is
simply rearranging your phone's home screen so that apps you want to use less
frequently are out of sight.
Price even has a bed for her phone in a closet in her home so it is not in her
bedroom. When she walks in the door, her phone goes in its bed in the closet,
where it is plugged in to charge.
Price has also made rule for herself that
she only uses her phone at home when it’s plugged in.
"So,
for me, if I’m at home I have to go to the closet," she said. "That's
another speed bump because it’s inconvenient to be standing in the
hallway."
6.
Set Yourself Up For Success.
If you are taking the phone out of your
bedroom, for example, replace it with something you want to be doing instead.
"If
it’s reading, then put a book on your bedside table," Price said. "If
you want to draw more, put your pencils and notepad next to your bed."
Price, for example, picked up playing the
guitar after stepping away from her phone.
"You do need to have a broader
vision of what you want to spend your time on," she said. "It can be
challenging [to choose] but very worthwhile and can have fulfillment in areas of
your life you wouldn’t expect."
7.
Try a 24-hour fast.
Price's 30-day plan builds up to what she
describes as "a 24-hour trial separation" from your phone.
Price had a trial group of 150 people who
tried the 30-day plan before her book's launch.
"They had the realization that even
though they were anxious for turning off their phones for 24 hours, they did it
and felt peaceful and didn’t have that much waiting for them," she said.
8.
Prepare To Be Depressed, But Not By What You'd Expect.
"The only negative side effect I’ve
heard is when you’re aware of your own usage, you get kind of depressed looking
around you," Price explained. "It’s depressing to see everyone on
their phone."
Price said once she put down her own
phone and saw how engrossed everyone else was in their phones, it was a sight
she "couldn't unsee."
"We have a limited time on earth and
we’re spending so much of it buried in our phones," she said. "And
most of the time it’s not a conscious decision."
9.
Get Comfortable With Stillness.
"Even if you use your time off [by]
staring at a wall, I think there’s a huge benefit to stillness," Price
said. "We’re missing out by allowing our phones to steal our attention in
these bits and pieces."
Moments of stillness, and flashes of creativity,
can come when you're walking, riding in an elevator or a bus or cab, according
to Price.
"The instinct is to grab your phone
and anytime you’re doing that you’re removing yourself from the present
situation," she said.
10.
Remember That Relationships Take Work.
"I’m certainly working on my
relationship with my phone every single day," Price said, two years after
she first began her journey to use her phone less.
Price recommends keeping in mind that
smartphones and apps are "not designed with our interests in mind"
but are instead designed for profit.
"You
need to set boundaries with it," she said. "I think the balance is
very hard. It’s never going to be perfect and is constantly at work."
She’s got us there!
Are you game?
Me planning to!!! ;-)
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