Yesterday, I wrote about nomophobia, and how nearly everyone has it, how it can rule your life if left unchecked. And I kind of suggested a quick fix solution….
…which may have been a little extreme. Hmmm.
So I decided to try something less violent. Here are some tips on wriggling free from the clutches of your phone.
Let’s start with baby steps. First things first, turn off your phone during weekends. Unless you’re one of those unlucky few that work on the weekends. In that case, just turn it off whenever you’re not doing office work.
Some people just had knee jerk reactions. It can be done though. My dad turns off his phone on weekends and he runs an ad agency. He’s the busiest person I know. Trust me, turning yours off isn’t going to kill you.
Speaking of work, maybe you should start restricting work to certain hours. This trick I learned from one of my professors in media school. Family time is family time, work time is work time, play time is play time. When you start mixing them, one of them suffers, and it’s usually family. The strange thing about compartmentalising your time this way is, it makes you get more work done (because you know time is limited) and you get to cherish the times spent doing stuff.
Hobbies. Develop offline hobbies. I hear men who know how to cook are in high demand these day (they’re the unicorns of the dating scene). Photography is also really trendy. I’m specifically avoiding mentioning TV or console gaming because, that’s just dancing near fire. Exercise, leisure traveling and so on. Get creative.
Go out leaving your phone at home. Start with the short trips. Like when you go jogging, don’t fall for the trap of using your phone as a music player. Get an actual iPod or go without. Going to buy petrol at the fuel station? Leave the phone. Do this often enough, and in no time, you can start leaving your phone at home, just because.
And if you just thought, “But I use Uber” you are beyond help. Seriously.
Smartphone addiction may be pointing to another type of addiction – the internet. For some people, the phone is just a means to getting plugged in to the web. So, if that’s you, you’re fighting a losing battle if you still spend the whole day on your laptop jacked in. The simple solution, don’t. No mobile phone also means no internet. Stick to the regime.
Yes, your phone is an important part of your business/job, but that doesn’t mean you should let it run your life. And if all these tips are too much for you, you could always do this:
After all, hacking is all the rage these days.
