Smartphone |App Overload | 4 tips to take control

It’s 6:00am, the alarm goes off. What do you do? Jump out of bed and get ready to exercise? Hit the snooze button? Or get on your phone and scroll through EVERYTHING.

I am a firm believer of balance in life, but sadly the scales started to tip a little, and the apps were were to consume my mornings. WhatsApp, Facebook, Insta, Snap, LinkedIn, Weather, Strava, Slack, Messenger, the list goes on. I couldn’t help myself; I felt the need to be across everything before the day had even begun. Why is this?

On a recently updated Techjury blog, App usage Stats the average smartphone user has 40+ apps installed on their phone so it’s no wonder our mornings are fogged with mobile phone consumption.

So how can you bring back some balance to your morning schedule? Here are my top 4 tips:

Turn notifications OFF! - This isn’t rocket science, but it really makes a difference. When you’re not seeing the “Red alert” the FOMO disappears! When a notification pops up, our brains release dopamine, which makes us feel good for a short time, and so we continue to repeat that behaviour of “notification in, quickly check”. When notifications are switched off, we can start to change that pattern which will ultimately assist in better mental health in the long term.

Allocate specific times for checking – We schedule our meetings and appointments, why should spending time on social media be any different? Allocate time in your day where you allow yourself to focus on catching up on social media. By doing this, you won’t feel the need to be checking your phone every 10 minutes. An article on techguide.com.au reported that we spend a whopping 5.5 hours per day on our phones!

Don’t be reactive – if you decide to keep notifications on for certain apps, don’t be reactive. Life will go on without you checking who commented on your post, or who has written a new LinkedIn article. If someone urgently needs you, they will do the old-fashioned thing and call you.

Show self-discipline – It is hard to break a phone addiction, but like all addictions we need to practice self-discipline. Keep focused, stay motivated and don’t let distractions creep into your productive day. With all the extra hours you’ll save by not checking your phone, imagine the success you will have.

…..Now, time for me to practise these suggestions. So far, I have checked my apps and responded to 18 notifications during the course of writing this article. Old habits take time to break.

Tell me your top recommendations! Comment below, how do you control your app checking habits??