Let’s call a spade a spade, y’all – we’re addicted to our smartphones. And although our smartphones give us unprecedented access to information (and those few blissful moments at a restaurant when they keep our kids entertained), they’re also an overlooked part of self-care. If you’ve ever felt anxiety over a Facebook notification, or dropped everything for the ding of a text message, you know what I’m talking about. Here’s a few ways for you to think about self-care a little more broadly, and finally start getting smart about your smartphone.
1. Don’t start your morning with your smartphone.
Use a real alarm clock. Seriously. Put your “Do Not Disturb” to kick in at least 90 minutes before you go to bed, and charge your phone in another room while you sleep. If you use your smartphone’s alarm feature, as soon as you wake up your phone is already in your hand. I’m infamous for sending emails straight from bed within 2 minutes of my alarm going off. It’s horrible. Try not to touch your phone for a minimum of 15 minutes after you wake up. Stretch, meditate, grab a cup coffee or tea…however you start your day. Try and create some space between your smartphone world and the real world, at least for a few minutes.
2. Turn off notifications on the app that you always go to first
When I turn off the notifications on my Facebook and Instagram apps, it’s so much calmer when I log into my smartphone. That red icon isn’t demanding my attention, and it gives the sense that nothing is going on. This lets me use my smartphone for what I logged in for, and if I really am looking to kill time on Facebook or Instagram, it’s intentional and not driven by the notifications that I see as soon as I look at my phone.
3. Keep your phone text messages on silent, except for the super important contacts
This is my favorite hack of all. Set your text message default noise to silent. Then go into individual contacts (like your husband, the kid’s school, etc.) and add a text message notification noise. That way any other text message doesn’t alert your phone and you can check it on your terms. There’s nothing more invasive to me than a text message, so this was a super helpful way for me to manage my cell phone notifications.
What are ways you control your smartphone? I’d love to hear in the comments!
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