x min read
Phone Addiction Images – Unsplash.com
Introduction
Phone usage is the one enemy that will tear you apart limb by limb if you choose to do nothing in response to it.
Nowadays, it’s normal to have times ranging from 3, 4, 7, and even 9 hours. And for some, those are just rookie numbers. For some, living off of high phone usage every single day and crafting no meaning out of their life is what they are known for.
People today are expected of nothing. So many wish to accomplish big things, but they don’t do anything to make that come true.
What You’ll Learn
Today, I’ll teach you exactly what I did to get my daily phone usage from 4-5 hours all the way to 1 hour and below. Sure, it seems difficult – and that’s because it will be.
You will have to starve your brain of the dopamine and comfort that it’s so used to. You know why? Because that’s what it takes to achieve meaning. That’s what it takes to forget everything and move on with what matters.
We lose so much of our life through digital technologies. Let’s change that.
“How technology is advancing but destroying the human brain”
My Story
The time was early 2023 (yeah I know, not too long ago). I was just like everybody my age. I used my phone a lot, did nothing with my life, went to school, did my homework, followed orders, and a slave to an everyday life and routine that did nothing and made me no better than I was at the time. Sure, maybe some of you see that as a life, but I don’t.
One of the things holding me back was how often and frequently I used my phone. Commonly, it was 4, 5, and -on some days- 6 hours a day. I lost so much of my life (probably months) during that time solely from my phone usage.
I had no care as to how much I used digital technology. All that mattered was school and if my brain was satisfied and happy. And it sure was happy. All that dopamine from videogames, video content, and nothing else fueled me.
Commonly, I would go to bed at around 10-11 PM at night every single night just because of homework-related reasons.
Most students at the time and at my age go to sleep even later. The so-called reason is because of homework, studying, projects, and assignments of some sort. I used to understand that just as well as every other student, but nowadays, I don’t see it the same way.
Why You Don’t Have Time to do Anything
24 hours is plenty of time to do something. It’s plenty of time to do a lot of things. But yet, a majority of people only get to work, sleep, eat, and repeat.
Students complain about how little time they have to do their tasks. But, I think there’s an ignored component here: screen time.
You go to school for 7 hours a day (may be even less), sleep for 6 hours a day (because I know that a majority of people don’t bother getting in 8 hours of sleep), and have 11 hours left. If you’re a student, that time likely goes to things such as homework (taking up a few hours), and possibly a part-time job (also taking up a few hours).
In that case, you probably still have 2-3 hours left even with those 4 major components chewing up pretty much all the time up in your day. And then there lies my question: what you do you mean by “not enough time?”
Try This
Don’t use your phone for anything besides educational and informational purposes. Stick to it, and be serious about it. Do everything you need to do, and see how much time you have left at the end of the day.
You have time, you just can’t see that. Your phone consumes and control you. Once you flip the script, time will never feel more abundant.
Time Images – Unsplash.com
What I Did To Lower my Phone Usage (My Exact Procedure)
1. What apps do you use the most?
Social media platforms and entertainment platforms tend to be the highest on this list. And if that’s so, then welcome to the average group of people.
Once you’ve assessed this, I want you to develop a mini-plan for how you’ll gradually lower your usage of these applications.
Before you continue, I must say that you CANNOT immediately quit those apps. By now, your brain is so used to using them that it almost depends on it to live. Yeah, I know. It sounds crazy, but it’s entirely true.
2. What apps do you use the least?
These apps are the ones that you still have to keep an eye on, but won’t matter as much compared to the other ones on this list.
3. Do the math & Implement time limits.
By how much do you need to cut down the time of all the apps on your phone? If you use one app exclusively more than all the other apps on your phone, then accomplishing this feat won’t be too difficult. But, if your high phone usage is spread across a multitude of apps, then doing this’ll be more tricky.
So, it’s time to do the thing that we all hate most: math. How much do you need to cut down XYZ to reach 1 hour across all apps on your phone? I suggest consistently keeping watch on your daily and weekly screen time chart found in your settings (at least for iPhone) and adding a built-in time limit for the apps that you need it most. If you follow this suggestion, it won’t make you that much closer to decreasing your screen time, but it will keep you aware of how much you’re using your device.
Example
For example, if my phone usage for an app was 2 hours, and for the rest on my phone was around 90 minutes (adding up to 3 hours and a half), then I know that I must especially cut down the time for that one app. So, I will decrease its usage by 50 minutes every week so that by the end of the 2-week period, I still have 20 minutes for that app every day. From there, I gradually cut down the rest of the apps that I use too by a few minutes (whether that’d be 5, 10, 20, or more) so that everything aligns nicely and so I can reach that 1 hour mark.
That’s an example on the harsher side, and so following that will probably get you to less than 1 hour of screen time per day. So, follow what your gut says is the best. But, do not lose your eyes on the prize.
4. Starve your brain of bad dopamine
You will lose a lot of dopamine here, and for a fair reason too. So, let’s go with a more trusty supply of dopamine that is harder but yet more deserving to get and never runs out: natural dopamine.
‘Natural dopamine’ is a form of dopamine that is naturally gotten and isn’t artificial (another name for something that gives you dopamine, but is the opposite of natural dopamine – undeserving and of a limited supply).
To fulfill this side of your dopamine, you need to discover and develop good habits that matter to you and you know are good for you.
5. Commit & understand the difficulties
Your brain will beg you to stop. Your brain will tell you to stop and quit before the first week has passed.
Will you really give into that?
Most people are controlled by their own minds. They do what their brain tells them to do, rather than what their soul tells them to. And if that’s you, than welcome to the average group of people.
Face the fact that lowering your screen time won’t be easy, and accept that it will take mental struggle to get to where you want to be.
“How dopamine is controlling today’s generation”
Actionable Step 1
Here, we’ll be developing this “mini-plan” mentioned in the previous paragraph. This will assure that you are on the right track to lowering the usage of those apps in as little time as possible.
THE GOAL: Reach a 1 hour (across all apps, not one) daily phone usage limit within a 2-week period.
- How much do you use your phone altogether? – Assess how long you use your phone, and which apps you use the most. The goal here is to pinpoint which apps need to be drastically cut down within the 2-week period and which apps don’t.
- How much do you use XYZ app? – Determining this should give you a fair guideline for how long you should expect to reach the 1-hour mark. For example, if you use TikTok for 3 hours a day, then you should aim to decrease that time by 75 minutes every single week. Your brain will still likely love using and binging these apps even after the 2-week period; so the goal is not to get rid of it, but rather to lower how often we use it.
- Cut the time you use each app (use time limits) – Depending on how long you use an app for, you may have to cut the time down by a large or small chunk. So, cut the time down accordingly. If you use an app for 2 hours, and it’s your most used app, then prepare to cut the time you use it by 45 minutes every week. That way, by the time the 2-week period is over, you’ll still have 30 daily usage minutes on whatever app you’re referring to every day. MY SUGGESTION: Use built-in time limits found in your settings and add it to whatever app(s) you need it for.
- Create, don’t consume – If your usage time is high, your brain will likely be starved of dopamine. That may sound good, but it’s not. So, instead, you must exchange that sh*tty, garbage, and low-quality dopamine for high-quality, and deserving dopamine that YOU MUST EARN. You can do this through healthy activities such as washing the dishes, taking out the trash, getting some work done, meditating, resting, exercising, recording a video/podcast, going for a walk/jog, writing a blog, and whatever else you like doing and you know is good for your brain and body.
- Repeat – Once the 2-week period is over, you should see a difference. Not only is your phone usage down, but you have more time than ever to be productive, do the things that matter the most, and enjoy what life really has to offer. You’ll feel happier, more satisfied, and feel the things that you’re doing on your personal growth expedition are piecing together more nicely than ever.
If My Method Doesn’t Work…
If my procedure doesn’t work for you, I suggest deleting the apps that are wasting the most time out of your day. A majority of you probably hated the idea of that as soon as you read it, and that was expected.
After all, if you depend on an app so heavily, the last thing you would do would be deleting it, right or wrong?
Deleting the app and signing out of all applications will make it more of a hassle to actually access those apps on your phone, thus giving you a –guaranteed– lower screen time within just a few days. The mind doesn’t appreciate repetitive tasks that take up valuable (even if you don’t use it responsibly) time.
So, it’ll find a better and smarter way to replenish that lost dopamine; which is when those good habits and practices we discussed earlier will come in handy.
“Why good habits and dopamine transform the brain beyond comprehension”
Conclusion
Screen time is what makes your brain control you, or at least it’s one of the things that permits it to take control over you. For that reason, if you can control the method in which your brain produces dopamine, then mastering your mind and achieving unheard-of amounts of time in the day is inevitable.
