It’s one thing to wonder whether you’re on your phone too much, but it’s another to face up to the cold, hard evidence. Based on data collected by RescueTime, the average person uses their phone for three hours and 15 minutes every day. But before you start blaming yourself, keep in mind that our phones were designed to take advantage of the biological makeup of our brains to capture our attention.
Beginning to adjust your phone usage takes both willpower and consistent mindfulness to keep track of how much time your phone is consuming. Here are a few easy steps you can take to ensure your phone usage stays in check and your time remains your own.
Track Your Total Phone Usage For One Week
In your phone settings, check out your screen time and review the daily and weekly reports on how much time you spend on your phone. Decide how much time you want to allow yourself to spend on each app and set limits accordingly.
Bury Your Most Addictive Apps
By organizing your home screen so that your most addictive apps are in the back pages, you turn passive apps — apps you go to out of habit, just to zone out — into affirmative apps, which you consciously seek out for a purpose.
Download Other Apps
If you’re willing to accept the irony of using tech to limit your tech use, there are dozens of additional apps that track and limit your screen time. A few of our favorites include Rescuetime, Getsiempo, Freedom and Off the Grid.
Need to plan an unplugged escape? Book your Getaway today.