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Digital detox

5 Quick Fixes for a Calmer, More Focused Life

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How to *not* be distracted all the time.

Image created by the author via Canva.

Do you ever feel time runs like sand through your fingers?

If you’re struggling to live a more present life, you likely focus on the wrong things. Improving your inner peace is about what you do less of, not more of.

Taking a moment to integrate these quick fixes can help you find an inner state of calm while staying on top of things.

None of these suggestions should take you more than three minutes to set up, but every single one will help you reach more focus and presence.

1) Change Your Social Media Passwords

Without your active consent, social media’s persuasive design tricks you into screen time with severe consequences.

Different research attests to a relation between social media usage and mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and even suicide-related thoughts.

Not knowing your password is one of the most effective ways to spend less time on social media. I follow this technique since 2017, and it has given me weeks of time. I created a threshold that prevents me from impulsive social media checks.

How to do it:

Go to all social media you use regularly and change your password to a random combination you can’t remember.

Don’t save the new password in your browser. Instead, write it on a piece of paper. Then log off your social media platforms and place the paper in some drawer.

2) Don’t Consolidate Messaging Apps

Self-labeled productivity apps like Shift or Franz sound tempting. It seems convenient to aggregate all communication channels in one place.

Yet, these apps lead to context switching and thereby destroy your focus.

Cal Newport says: “Switching your attention — even if only for a minute or two — can significantly impede your cognitive function for a long time to follow.”

Once I deleted Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, and Franz from my desktop, I focused better on one project at a time.

How to do it:

Delete all messaging aggregators from your computer. Anytime you need a specific communication channel, open it in your browser.

Instead of being surprised by new messages, you actively decide when to open and read the messages.

3) Delete Mail from Your Phone

I used to check my email when walking up the stairs and while waiting in a line. My mind revolved around work even while I wasn’t at my desk.

But our brains need off-time. To get maximum focus during working hours, we need enough time away from work. Plus, boredom brings benefits.

How to do it:

Pick your phone and delete your Mail app. Nothing is so urgent it can’t wait until you’re back at your desk.

“Are you distracted by breaking news? Then take some leisure time to learn something good, and stop bouncing around.”

— Marcus Aurelius

4) Use Site-Blockers

Compulsive social media checks will make your thoughts bounce around like a ping-pong ball. A study from Irvine University found it takes 20 minutes to refocus after distractions.

Chamath Palihapitiya, former Facebook executive, says: “We were not evolved to get social approval being dosed upon us every 5 minutes.”

For better productivity, fix your environment. If you don’t want to get distractions, use a site-blocker.

How to do it:

I use this free chrome extension to block LinkedIn, Facebook, and Mail from 9 PM to noon.

Block all sites that dilute your focus. You’ll be surprised how much more you can achieve in less time.

5) Charge Your Phone Outside Your Bedroom

If you charge your phone in your bedroom, you’re likely poisoning your mind with trash at the most important times of your day — before you sleep and after you wake up.

Here are the three of the most damaging effects of using your smartphone in your bedroom:

  • You lose time
  • You lose focus
  • Your sleep quantity and quality drops

By abandoning your phone from your bedroom, you can implement new bedtime and morning rituals such as reading, meditating, journaling, or letting your mind wander.

Keeping my phone out of my bedroom was the single most effective habit to read more books. Since I managed my phone habits, I have read one book a week for almost three years.

How to do it:

Get an alarm clock and stop waking up to your smartphone’s alarm. When you sleep with your phone in another room, you don’t need to exert your willpower first thing in the morning. Instead, you’ll start your days with a clear mind and ease into a distraction-free morning.

Often, anxiety and hurry are caused by distraction. These quick fixes help me live a calmer life that’s full of focus. I hope they do the same for you.

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The Creator’s Guide to Optimizing Your Day for Productivity, Focus, and Health

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Make your time work for you.

Photo: Designecologist/Pexels

When I started working for myself a year ago, I felt bombarded with suggestions on structuring my days. I was overwhelmed by conflicting advice and struggled to find a balance between hustle and rest.

This is the article I wish I’d had when starting to work for myself. I skipped the self-help fluff and distilled what made my days such a massive force for achievement and joy.

The following structure helped me earn a consistent +$5K monthly income, generated through writing, podcasting, and consulting.

You may not like all of these suggestions, or you might have great routines for some areas. If so, skip the paragraph. Your life, your rules. This article has only a single purpose: helping you, dear creator or solopreneur, getting smart at building your thing and excelling at whatever you’re doing.

The ten building blocks of creator days. (source by author)

A morning routine to set you up for success

Many people talk themselves down when they don’t check all of their morning routine boxes. I was the same. Unless I did oil-pulling, drank a glass of warm water, took a cold shower, meditated for at least 15 minutes, journaled about my dreams, visualized my goals, and practiced 20 minutes of yoga, I felt like a failure.

When a routine feels like an obligation, it misses the point. There’s not the perfect routine. Your morning routine is less about what you do than why you do it. Design a routine around your goals.

But this doesn’t mean you need to follow the same pattern every day. If you get up and feel like going for a walk, do it. If you don’t feel like journaling, skip it.

The best results often come from a combination of structures and intuition. Adjust your routine to your needs, and wants and don’t judge yourself on checking the boxes.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • What’s the first thing you do in the morning?
  • Which activities help you get excited for the day?
  • Are there any habits you can do to feel fresh and awake before you open your laptop?

A calendar setup that will make you thrive

If you ever feel like you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them, it’s likely because your calendar isn’t set up for success.

As a creator, time is your most valuable resource. To make the most of it, learn to master a respectful no and use time blocking.

Time blocking is a simple productivity trick people like Elon Musk use. While a to-do list shows you what you need to do, time blocking reveals when you’re going to do it.

The technique works because it’s designed for focus. When you work towards one goal at a time, you are more productive than splitting your attention across various projects.

Plus, when you know you have time set aside later for checking messages, you’re less likely to give in to hooking mechanisms and random e-mail checks.

A time-blocked week in my calendar (Source: Eva Keiffenheim).

My high-level priorities include writing, reading, eating good food, moving my body, and client work. These time blockers are non-negotiable. Even in a work-intense week, I won’t skip the sports and food blocks because that’s how I keep my balance.

When you see in your calendar the time that’s blocked for existing projects and your thinking time, you’re less likely to say yes to other people. You take ownership of your time. Y

“In this day and age you cannot call something distracting unless you know what it’s distracting you from.”

— Nir Eyal

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • What’s the proportion of calendar events you created vs. events other people invited you to?
  • Which meetings can be replaced by a call, an email, or a shared document?
  • How can you integrate time-blocking to focus on your high-level priorities?

Deep work is your most valuable skill

If you can create three focused hours of uninterrupted creation time, you solve most of your time management issues. Because once you’re in deep work and focus on one thing for an extended period, you produce your best work.

Cal Newport says Deep Work is “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.”

From an 8-hour workday, how much do you really work? Your best work does not emerge from the total time spent but from the intensity of focus. Here’s the equation:

High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus)

To get into deep work, choose a space free of distractions. Then, determine how much time you’ll devote to the task ahead. For a start, aim for 10–15 minutes. After a few days of deep work, your ability to focus on one task will increase.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • How much time do you do deep work during a day?
  • Do you protect your deep work sessions with time blocks in your calendar?
  • What’s your deep work structure? (Will your phone be off or on? Will you let yourself check the internet? How will you measure a session’s success (pages read, lines coded, words written)?

Cultivating helpful phone habits

If you’re like 80% of smartphone users, you check your device every morning within the first 15 minutes after waking up.

By checking your phone early in the day, you condition your mind for distraction. Notifications and messages will make your thoughts bounce around like a ping-pong ball.

Throughout your day, your morning behavior repeats itself. By checking your phone too early in the day, you won’t produce any deep work. You’ll get distracted and lose focus again and again.

According to this study from Irvine University of California, it takes 20 minutes to refocus after distractions.

As a self-employed creator, you have the ultimate freedom over your days. No boss can schedule an unproductive meeting at 9 AM. Protect your time by cultivating smart phone habits (pun intended).

My phone is in flight mode from 8 PM to 12 PM. I’ve been using this schedule for half a year, and it’s the single most effective productivity and health booster. It helps me focus on my tasks and makes my mind calm down.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you control your phone, or does your phone control you?
  • Do you charge your phone at a place you don’t see it?
  • During which hours do you want to be available for calls and other people’s requests?

Quality breaks you need to take every day

Did you ever finish your workday realizing you haven’t moved away from your chair for the past 4 hours? In our work culture, many people see breaks as a luxury. But to find long-term joy in your workdays, you need them.

Luckily breaks don’t need to be complicated. A study compared break lengths of 1, 5, and 9 minutes, and even the shortest break made workers feel better.

To take regular breaks, I use Be Focused. The timer starts in 50-minute intervals for my writing sessions and reminds me to take a 10-minute break. When it rings, I stop whatever I’m doing and move away from my screen.

This is how what I typically do during my breaks: Drink a cup of water. Make a tea. Practice the guitar for a few minutes. Dance and shake to a song. Take a short walk outside. Puzzle. Prepare lunch or dinner. Sit down to meditate. Clean the bathroom. Stretch. Take a long walk outside and call a friend.

The list is endless. Your breaks might look completely different. But take them. Scheduling meaningful breaks inside your days will help you enjoy your workdays and prevent you from overworking.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • How often do you take breaks during a working day?
  • Have you scheduled breaks in your calendar?
  • Do you have non-negotiable playtime for undirected exploration?

Focus on learning and knowledge expansion

Knowledge is power. That’s why learning can improve any life. Yet, only very few people make learning an ongoing habit.

No life skill can earn you greater dividends than learning how to learn. We can’t expand our time, but we can expand our minds. Learning is the virtuous circle that can help you create the life of your dreams.

Reading is the easiest way to learn every day. Books are to the mind what exercise is to your body. They make you discover truths about the world and yourself. Page by page, they help you live a happier life.

Reading is liberating. Freedom means choosing from a set of options. The more options you have, the freer you are. But most people don’t know about all their options. And that’s where reading kicks in. It helps you explore options you never knew existed.

So, read outside of your specific field. Say less and ask more and better questions. Let curiosity guide you to learn something new.

I reserve time to read books, newsletters, listen to podcasts, take online courses, join learning communities, attend educational conferences, and take notes after exciting conversations.

“The most important skill for getting rich is becoming a perpetual learner. You have to know how to learn anything you want to learn.”

— Naval Ravikant

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • Which three skills do you want to learn this year?
  • What’s the ratio between spending time on social media vs. learning something helpful?
  • Does your calendar reflect your learning goals? Do your learning activities align with your goals? If not, how can you adapt?

Unlock the power of reflection

“Most people are other people,” Oscar Wilde once said. “Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

Whenever I have a spare moment, I try to fill it. I listen to podcasts, read books, have a conversation with my beautiful boyfriend, answer messages, or hop to the next task in my bullet journal.

And while these activities can be enjoyable and add energy to my life, they have a marginal return on thinking utility. After a certain point, every additional minute of doing decreases the ability to think for yourself.

When we’re so busy doing, we don’t spend single second thinking. Entire days go by without a single deep thought. At the end of your life, you realize you’ve lived the life of others.

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”

— John Dewey

Before learning from Warren Buffett, Bill Gates said he had every minute packed and thought that was the only way you could do things. Bill concludes Warren taught him the importance of giving himself time to think and reflect.

Reflection is the active decision to think about your past. Researchers define reflection as the intentional attempt to synthesize, abstract, and articulate the key lessons taught by experience.

I integrate reflection every Sunday. They are the most valuable 60–90 minutes I spend every week. Here’s how my Sunday reflection checklist looks like:

My weekly reflection in Notion (Source: Eva Keiffenheim).

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you have a daily, weekly, and yearly review in place?
  • Do you block time to think about what you achieved instead of moving forward?
  • Do you have a habit of asking yourself after each completed job “what went well” and “even better if”?

Design your environment for desired behavior

I long believed that I need motivation and willpower to adopt new habits. But both resources are limited. When I first read the following section by James Clear, I realized I overlooked one of the most critical factors in building desired behavior:

“Our behavior is not defined by the object in an environment but by our relationship to them. In fact, this is a useful way to think about the influence of the environment on your behavior. Stop thinking about your environment as filled with objects. Start thinking about it as filled with relationships. Think in terms of how you interact with the spaces around you. For one person, her couch is the place where she reads for an hour each night. For someone else, the couches where he watches television and eats a bowl of ice cream after work.”

When you design the right environment for your desired habit, you link the habitat to the desired habit. That’s why it makes sense to design an environment around the person you want to become.

If you want to write every day, your environment’s essential elements are a computer, site blockers, noise cancellation headphones, and a distraction-free place to write. That way, you turn into the architect of your reality.

“If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”

— Marshall Goldsmith

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • Is your physical workspace supporting you? (screen at eye level, daylight, a healthy seating position).
  • Is your digital workspace setting you up for success? (which apps are installed, do you use site-blockers, tools to manage your knowledge)
  • Do you keep your phone and distractions away during your deep work session?

End-of-day shutdown rituals

If you work in an office or co-working space, you can skip this. Your natural shutdown ritual is leaving the building and heading home.

If you, however, are among the 50% of people in the US who work from home, a shutdown ritual is crucial for your mental health.

After a full day, it’s challenging to calm down and get ready for the evening. In the early days of my self-employment, I found myself working until late. Sometimes I replied to mail or watched online courses when I knew I should be calming down.

This works if you do it once in a while. But after a few days working long evenings, you have to search for the energy and enthusiasm to create great content. A shutdown ritual will improve your remote work productivity.

“A shutdown ritual is a set routine of actions that you perform at the end of each work day to finalize your day and signify that your work day is done.”

— Cal Newport

A great shutdown routine ensures that you review incomplete tasks, goals, or projects and you confirm that you have a plan you trust for its completion, or you wrote it down somewhere you’ll see it at the right time.

Your end-of-work-day ritual can have different elements: updating all to-do lists, review the calendar for tomorrow, writing a plan for the next day, closing every tab on your computer, leaving your working desk.

Before dinner, I take 5–10 minutes to go through my Bullet Journal and review the daily log. I tick off To Do’s, move them to the next day, and add items with a look on my weekly goals and my calendar. I close all computer windows and leave my desk.

Consciously ending your workday gives you a beautiful feeling that everything you needed to do is done or schedule.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • Do you wrap up your day and plan for the next one?
  • How do you know your workday is over?
  • What reminds you to start your shutdown ritual? (time, feeling, alarm)

Evening routine

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 45% of Americans state poor or insufficient sleep affected their days at least once in the past seven days.

But even if you’re among the lucky ones who fall asleep quickly, a proper evening routine can improve your focus, well-being, and health.

As with the morning routine, there’s not the perfect evening routine. Do whatever feels good for you.

My evenings vary, but most include some of the following activities: having a friend over for dinner, foam roll, guitar practice, calling a friend, cooking, talk to my fiancé, or go for a walk. The only constant thing is that I put my phone into flight mode and go to bed around 9 PM.

Probing questions to ask yourself:

  • What helps you sleep better and relax?
  • Which activities do you enjoy in the evening?
  • What’s the last thing you want to do before sleeping?

Are you a life-long learner? Get your free learner’s letter now.

How To Do a Digital Detox to Reclaim Your Focus

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Where your attention goes, your energy flows.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

It’s been 13 years since the invention of the iPhone, and by now, we’re well aware of the downsides of using too much technology.

We know digital devices can harm our physical and mental health. We’ve read the studies about social media and its association with anxiety, depression, and psychological distress.

And yet, most people continue to refresh their news feeds on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook as if they didn’t know.

These people hijack their ability to do anything meaningful with their lives. While they feel they’re working, for example, they do nothing more than shallow work.

“Technology is a great servant, but a terrible master.”

— Stephen Covey

And while 99% of technology users distract themselves from the things that would change their lives for the better, you can decide here and now to take back control of your attention.

By doing a digital detox once in a while, you’ll set yourself up for a happier, healthier, and more meaningful life.

Here’s what it is, why you should do it, and how you can do a detox from the comfort of your home.

What is a ‘Digital Detox’?

A digital detox is a short-term intervention, and contrary to daily habits, is done once in a while. The duration is up to you (more on that in a few sentences).

During a digital detox, you quit your modus operandi. You stop relying on your brain’s default network. You step away from the screens and step into the clarity of your mind.

During a digital detox, you give your eyes and brain a break. You can use it as an opportunity to reduce stress. You can focus on social interaction in the physical world or use the space for inner work.

Why You Should Try A Digital Detox

By doing a digital detox, you’ll reap countless benefits along the way. And while they are powerful and simple in themselves, they have a positive impact on other areas of your life.

#1. You’ll Connect With Yourself

When you’re staring at your screen, you’re unable to feel your body.

While I love to write every morning for some hours, I’d be lying if I’d say my body loves it. I can’t connect with my body when I focus on a screen.

Any online stimulus, like a dopamine shot from a LinkedIn notification, can distract you from your body’s signals. We lose any mind and body connection.

By saying no to your screens, you’ll say yes to your body. You’ll not only notice how you feel but also have the time to do things that make you feel good.

Stop looking at your screen and start looking inside yourself. Connect with how you’re feeling and read your signs for change.

Paying attention to your feelings instead of your phone will upgrade the course of your life. Promise.

“Disconnecting from our technology to reconnect with ourselves is absolutely essential.”

— Arianna Huffington

#2. You’ll Live Your Days with a Clear Mind

Inner peace and joy come from living in the present moment. By refraining from technology, we create the environment to really enjoy and see what’s happening in front of us.

I checked my phone first thing in the morning for a decade. It wasn’t until I made the first digital detox that I experienced the power of not using technology.

Since then, I write every morning for three undistracted hours. And by undistracted, I mean no phone, no social media, no e-mail.

Our mind works at best when we give it space to unfold.

By using digital detox, you can realign your attention on what matters to you.

By leaving all your distractions shut, you’ll be able to center your focus on the things that bring meaning to your life.

“What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore, play in defining the quality of our life.”

— Cal Newport

#3. You’ll Protect Your Time

Too often, we give away our time without realizing it’s a highly restricted resource. Time is the most precious thing you have and it’s ticking away with every second.

Everything you consume, information, news, messages, notifications food, shape your days, and ultimately your life.

And while it’s easier than ever to let let Instagram, Netflix, or Youtube rob your time, these services won’t improve the quality of your life.

By doing a digital detox, you’ll be treating your time in a way that it deserves to be treated.

You control what you spend your days on. It’s you who determines whether you control technology or let technology control you.

“No person hands out their money to passersby, but to how many do each of us hand out our lives! We’re tightfisted with property and money, yet think too little of wasting time, the one thing about which we should all be the toughest misers.”

— Seneca

Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash

How You Can Do a Digital Detox

So, you know about the meaning of digital detox and the benefits that come along with it. It’s time to apply this intervention to your life: How do you conduct a digital detox?

#1. Decide what you’re going to detox from

Before starting your detox, be clear about what you’re abstaining from. This will look different for everyone.

Here’s some inspiration of what I include in my digital detox:

  • Smartphone 
    This one is the game-changer. In my first detox, I tried to use it in flight mode to add some music to my time. Again, I was tricked into some other apps. 
    Every time I switch off my smartphone completely.
  • Computer
    While I use my computer mainly for work, I also include it in my digital detox. I didn’t want to have the temptation to open a side tab on LinkedIn to check a message quickly.
  • Kindle 
    This one is tricky. It’s not really a device that distracts me, but I feel I want to refrain from everything that has a screen. So no Kindle for me during my digital detox.

Once you have decided on what to detox from, you’re ready for step two.

#2. Set a specific time frame

This one is critical. Unless you have a clear goal in mind, you’ll find yourself on your computer and smartphone faster than you can imagine.

My first digital detox failed not only because of my smartphone’s flight mode but also because I wasn’t clear on this one.

I thought I’d go for on so long that it feels good.

Turns out this was a bad choice.

By setting a specific time frame, you have a clear goal in mind. For a starter, you can aim for 5 hours and gradually increase the length as it feels right for you (and as your work allows).

My digital detox range from 3 hours to 21 days. There’s no right or wrong duration. And any length is better than none.

#3. Plan what you’ll do instead

In the end, you’re not detoxing to punish you. You’re not using technology to reclaim your focus.

Here are some suggestions what you can do while fasting on your digital devices:

  • write a journal entry
  • take a bath
  • envision your 5, 10, 20-year future
  • create a vision board
  • clean your apartment
  • create some art
  • meditate
  • read a physical book
  • go out in nature
  • cook and eat with full presence
  • work out or stretch
  • write letters to people you love

Whatever you decide to do, make it something you genuinely enjoy.

And think about an offline treat you can do when you want to get up and pick your phone. Thereby, you’ll set yourself up for a successful digital detox.

“If we don’t create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”

— Marshall Goldsmith

Final Note

In 2020 it’s a luxury to refrain from technology for a longer period. To do a digital detox:

  • Decide which devices you will detox from
  • Determine the duration of your detox
  • Map out what you can do instead

Yet, we’re so used to using our devices every minute that the idea can feel daunting first.

Don’t ever let any post make you feel overwhelmed because you’re not practicing all the suggested steps.

This article is here to help you live a more intentional life — not to let you feel bad.

Use these ideas as a source of inspiration and brainstorm what might help you to live a happier, healthier, and joyful life.

Do you want to connect? Join my E-Mail List.

6 Negative Habits to Break to Help Stop Your Phone Addiction

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If you want to reclaim your time, here’s what you need to do.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

How often do you find yourself staring at your phone? If you’re like my former-self, your answer will go along the lines of “all the time.” No matter how hard you try to spend less time on your phone, your screen seems to glue your eyes to it. You can’t escape this magnetism. Phone addiction sucks.

End of 2017, Cal Newport inspired me to drastically reduce my screentime. Since then I’ve tested different approaches. I discovered the best way to stop phone addiction is by letting go of specific habits.

Here is a collection of behaviors you must break to minimize the time you spend on your phone. Every single principle helped me to reclaim my time. I hope it does the same for you.

Waking Up to Your Smartphone Alarm

When I woke up to my phone’s alarm, all social apps were only a fingertip away. Naturally, I let external information flow into my mind before I realized I did. I was among the 80% of smartphone users who check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. I’d scroll through my Insta feed, read the news, or reply on Messenger before getting out of bed.

In 2018 I replaced my phone with an alarm clock. And this changed everything. Now, my phone charges outside of my bedroom. By using an alarm clock instead of your phone, you don’t need to exert your willpower muscle first thing in the morning. You’ll ease into your distraction-free morning. Or, as the humble genius Michael Thompson put it,

“Some mornings will be easy. The sun will shine, and you’ll feel good. Other days will be much darker. You can’t control everything that happens to you. You can, however, make some changes to wake up feeling a little bit brighter.”

Using Social Media Apps

I’m honest with you: I deleted all of my social media apps only to reinstall them a few weeks later. I needed to abandon them a second time until I finally stuck to it. Researchers continue to link social media usage to mental and physical illnesses like back pain, depression, anxiety, and even suicide-related thoughts.

If you’re trying to live a happier, healthier life, deleting your social media apps from your phone is the fastest track to get there. Removing social media from your phone will reduce the role these platforms play in your life. You can still access them through the desktop version. Yet you’ll soon realize you don’t need them as much as you thought. You won’t even miss them. In Cal Newport’s words:

“What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore, play in defining the quality of our life.”

Carrying Your Phone in Your Pocket

One of the critical habits I ignored for too long was carrying my phone with me all the time. When you’re phone is within a hands reach, you can’t withstand the temptation to check it. Smart engineers designed notifications to capture and hold your attention. When I quit taking my phone with me, the urge to check it stopped as well.

Leave your phone away from you whenever you can. Don’t take it with you when you meet friends, go to the gym, or go grocery shopping. When you’re at home, put your phone in silent mode on the window seat. In 2020, being unreachable is a luxurious treat. Take it whenever you can.

Relying On A Mobile To-Do List

A big mistake I made was using Wunderlist for my tasks. I sabotaged my plan for spending less time on my phone by needing the phone to be productive. End of 2017, I started to bullet journal. It was the first analog To-Do list I ever used. Now, I can never imagine to replace it with a digital equivalent. The system is simple, minimalistic, and distraction-free.

Any other offline To-Do list will likely do the same trick for you. By replacing your mobile tasks with a pen and paper, you’ll have one reason less to take your phones to your hands.

Turning On Notifications

In 2007 my heart jumped every time I saw an envelope on my Nokia 3410. It might have been my first boyfriend spending 0.19 cents to send me a 160-sign-short text. In 2020, a blank lock screen gives me chills. Not because nothing is happening in my life. It’s rather a feeling of freedom and the realization that I determine when and how I use my phone. Stephen Covey got it right when he said:

“Technology is a great servant, but a terrible master.”

Using Your Phone For Entertainment

Cellphone companies try to turn your phone into a television. They make deals with Netflix or offer data packages when you use certain streaming providers. While this is good for the companies profits, it’s you who pays the price. Time is the most valuable resource you have. Choose wisely how you spend it.

By deleting all entertainment apps, like games or streaming providers, you’ll be living your life, instead of staring at your screen. In the words of Ryan Holiday:

“Because it’s my life and it’s ticking away every second. I want to be there for it, not staring at a screen.”

The Bottom Line

You can end your phone addiction today. All it takes are a few decisions:

  • Get an alarm clock and charge your phone outside of your bedroom.
  • Delete all social media apps and only use a desktop version.
  • Keep your phone at home whenever you can.
  • Start an analog To-Do list.
  • Turn off all sounds and notifications.
  • Use other entertainment options than your phone.

Instead of feeling discouraged by all the ideas about what you should do to stop your phone addiction, enjoy experimenting at your own pace. Choose one or two new habits until you find a pattern that helps you to use your time in meaningful ways.

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9 Reasons That Will Make You Want to Stop Checking Your Phone After Waking

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You use your phone too early. Here’s how to stop it.

Photo by Marjan Grabowski on Unsplash

If you’re like 80% of smartphone users, you check your device every morning within the first 15 minutes after waking up. This is dramatic as the early hours of your day will make or break your life.

By checking your phone first thing in the morning, you condition your mind for distraction. Notifications and messages will make your thoughts bounce around like a ping-pong ball. You won’t be able to focus on your day ahead.

Throughout your day, your morning behavior repeats itself. By checking your phone too early in the day, you won’t be able to produce any deep work. You’ll get distracted and lose focus again and again.

Yet, you can reprogram your phone habits and thereby, free your mind. It’s in your power to take back control. Here are nine reasons that will make you want to stop checking your phone after waking up, including instructions on how you can make that change.

1. Start Your Day With A Clear Mind

You decide how to spend your time. You can start and end your day without glancing at your phone and, instead, focus on what matters to you.

“What we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore, play in defining the quality of our life.”

— Cal Newport

Do you really want to wake up contemplating the latest post on your newsfeed?

By leaving your phone shut, you won’t be tempted to scroll through social media. Instead, you can start your day with a clear mind. By protecting your morning, you’ll start on your right foot.

I checked my phone first thing in the morning for a decade. It wasn’t until I read studies (like this one, this one, or this one) on the downsides of smartphone use that I abandoned my device from my morning hours. Since then, I make faster progress towards my life goals than I have ever imagined.

2. Finish Your Morning Routine Distraction Free

Your morning routine sets the tone for the day. You should do anything to protect these hours for yourself. By completing your routine without distraction every day, you’ll live your happiest life.

Yet, I can’t count the times I sat on my meditation pillow only to open my e-mail account instead of the headspace app.

Do you control your phone, or does your phone control you?

The problem is you can’t undo information input. What slipped through my phone into my morning routine found an entryway to my brain. You get in life what you’re willing to tolerate. Here’s how Benjamin Hardy, PhD, puts it:

“Most people tolerate spending huge amounts of their time on things that don’t inspire them because they aren’t clear on what they want. They aren’t clear on what they want because they haven’t begun acting right. Clarity and inspiration follow positive action.”

By not checking your phone after waking up, you create a distraction-free environment. There won’t be any “bing” during your morning routine, and you’ll quickly find yourself on the path to your happiest life.

3. You Can’t-Wait To Start Your Day

Reading messages from your co-workers after waking up can feel like a weight that ties you down. You might want to stay in bed rather than tackle the tasks ahead. Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi, a psychiatrist, says

“Immediately turning to your phone when you wake up can start your day off in a way that is more likely to increase stress and leave you feeling overwhelmed.”

In the hour after waking, your head needs time to get in the rational state of your consciousness.

By checking your phone, your overwhelming your clear mind with external information. By starting your phone with messages from your colleagues, it’s no wonder you might want to stay in bed rather than getting up.

Yet, your phone doesn’t have to feel like a weight that holds you back. To start your days full of energy, you can make the decision right here and now to change your phone habits.

With phone-free mornings you’ll have focused, dedicated and creative time for yourself. Your morning will bring you intense energy of doing and creating.

4. Connect With The People Around You

With your eyes glued to a screen, it’s tempting to forget your surroundings. And by burying your face in your phone’s screen, you won’t be able to connect with the people in your home.

By disconnecting your phone, you connect with the people around you. You’ll experience the power of human bonds, and spending time with people in your early hours will help you live a happier life.

“Deep human connection is the purpose and the result of a meaningful life, and it will inspire the most amazing acts of love, generosity, and humanity.”

— Melinda Gates

5. You Have Time To Eat The Frog

By checking your messages first thing in the morning, it’s easy to focus on the tasks of others. Yet, giving your morning attention to reaction events will limit your productivity.

The messages and news of others distract you from your most important task of the day, leaving your “frogs” victim to procrastination.

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it First Thing in the Morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the BIGGEST one first.”

— Mark Twain

When you stop reacting to others, you can start to act on your agenda, eat your frogs first. When you get into the habit of doing your most demanding job before you check your phone, you become a person of action and discipline.

Spend your most precious time on your most valuable activities, and you’ll change the trajectory of your life.

6. Breakfast Will Become A Sensory Experience

With eyes glued to our screens, it’s impossible to enjoy eating. Eating with distractions will leave you unsatisfied.

When you eat, eat. The key to achieving satiety and satisfaction when eating is mindful eating. The more attentive you eat, the more you‘ll feel what your body needs.

Without your cell phone on your table, it’ll be easier for you to stop eating when you are full. Instead of focusing on your device, focus on your breakfast qualities:

  • Taste and smell: sweet, sour, salty, bitter
  • Temperature: warm, cold
  • Texture: hard, soft, creamy, liquid, tough, dry

By not reacting to messages early in your day, you’ll have time to enjoy your breakfast with all your senses.

7. You Read More Books

Charlie Munger, self-made billionaire, and Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, once said:

“In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none. Zero.”

Bill Gates read one book a week during his career and took a yearly two-week reading vacation throughout his entire career. Barack Obama read an hour a day while in office.

The less time you spend on your phone, the more you’ll read. You’ll notice that you have plenty of time during your mornings. You can start a new habit, like reading 15 minutes every morning before you react to other people’s agenda.

Changing my phone habits was the hardest part but also the most effective one. I didn’t need to skip any activities to read 52 books a year.

Decreasing my screen time enabled me to read more. Since I stopped checking my phone in the morning in March 2018, I read 116 books. And if I can do it, you can do it, too.

8. You Take Self-Responsibility

By regularly checking your phone, you condition your mind for self-interruption. Social media, e-mail or messaging will deliver other people’s opinions, requests, and advertising into your head.

By not checking your phone, you take back self-responsibility. You’ll be the one determining what to do with your day. Nothing can distract you from your agenda.

Leaving your phone switched off will feel hard at first because it’s easier to follow other people’s agenda. You can’t look at social to escape from boredom or discomfort.

Your ego will fight back, whispering you should check these urgent messages. But by turning your phone on later in the day, you’ll take back more self-responsibility.

9. You Connect With Yourself

In the years I woke up to my smartphone’s screen, I was unable to notice my feelings. At that time, there were deep and intense feelings in me. Yet, I paid more attention to my screen than to my emotions.

If I’d read my body signals instead of the words on my smartphone screen, I would have been better at making effective decisions.

Stop looking at your screen and start looking inside yourself. Connect with how you’re feeling and read your signs for change. Paying attention to your feelings instead of your phone will upgrade the course of your life. Promise.

Not letting your phone distracting you opens your mind up to fantastic possibilities. You’ll set yourself up for success. By connecting with yourself in the morning, you’ll get more insights and ideas than you know what to do with.

“Disconnecting from our technology to reconnect with ourselves is absolutely essential.”

— Arianna Huffington

Now, Set Up Your Environment For Change

By reading this far, you understood why you shouldn’t check your smartphone in the morning. But change doesn’t come from understanding. Change comes from taking action. It’s in your hands to live the life you want to live.

  • Set up everything in such a way that you won’t miss your phone in the morning.
  • Dig up your old alarm clock, or buy a new one.
  • Turn your phone off before going to sleep and charge your phone outside of your bedroom.
  • Pick the book you‘ll read tomorrow morning and place it in sight.
  • Put an empty notebook and a pen to the place where you’d put your phone.

Promise yourself you will switch on your phone only 3 hours after waking up, for the next seven days. The change you’ll experience will make you want to continue with your new habit.

Unplug yourself from the matrix of social media and information.

Instead, plug into your life.

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