Good Morning Beautiful Souls!
Happy Mental Health Awareness Month and welcome back to Mind Reimagined, where we take a holistic view of our mental health and wellness through the arts, communication, and support. In this week's post, we will be talking about doing a self-check on how much we actually use our phones and how they may be more harmful than helpful to our productivity and day-to-day life.
We are living in a time where our phones determine how much time we spend on it and not the other way around. I mean honestly, when was the last time you checked your phone for any notifications? A couple of hours ago? 45 min ago? 10 seconds ago? Face it, we check our phones an average of every 10-15 minutes and that is SCARY! Our phones have us so wrapped that if we hear any little chime or bell we are getting up to check. Even if there is no alert we may tap the phone just in case we may have missed one. We ultimately have the power to say NO to our phones and keep them hidden for a little while. Because TRUST ME, that phone is not going anywhere.
Am I too dependent?
Being separated from your phone can cause loads of anxiety because of FOMO (fear of missing out) and a fear that if you are not within the eyesight of your phone you may miss an emergency. We rely on our phones for almost everything; to keep contact information, schedules, to wake up in the morning, etc.. Maybe next time try writing down a loved ones contact details and address in an address book or finding a streamlined paper calendar, or even buying an alarm clock to get you up in the morning. Also, try not to have an app for every single thing you have to do; I know they are convenient but they can be very distracting.
Establish some control
It may be time to uninstall Candy Crush, Instagram, Youtube, or any of the apps that take away your productivity. You can start using those apps when you're on your laptop or tablet and it may be helpful to set a timer. If you absolutely have to keep the apps on your phone then try moving them someplace other than your home screen so you do not see them often. When you start being more aware of how often you use your phone on a daily basis, you will know how best to move forward with some limits for yourself. Try not to remove everything at once, though, baby steps!
Leave a comment with an awesome memory you have about a time when you didn't have your phone and had loads of fun! Have an amazing rest of the week!
Go think GOOD thoughts...