It’s not unusual to be addicted to your phone these days. Most people spend hours on end scrolling on social media. After a while, you may feel like so much screen time is affecting your health. Psychological impacts like depression, anxiety and other disorders occur because you compare yourself to others on the screen. Although it may seem like your phone damages your health, you can use it as a helpful resource for health and wellness.
1. Start Journaling
When you wake up in the morning, you might grab your phone and start scrolling on social media immediately. Instead of doing so, retrain yourself to open the Notes app. Journaling doesn’t have to be done with the traditional pen and paper. Using your Notes app makes it more accessible and creates a healthy habit.
Don’t pressure yourself over what to write. You can use journaling prompts or list affirmations and things you are grateful for. Setting aside time to journal on your phone can change your relationship with it. Your phone gives you unlimited access to a journal.
2. Use Health Apps
Instead of downloading another social media or game app, find something that encourages your health and wellness. There are a lot of self-care apps like JennyCo that help you plan your most productive day-to-day life.”
You can look for productive apps that keep you off energy-draining apps. Or, explore educational apps to learn new things, like an app that teaches new languages or medical information. Educational apps promote growth in the mind instead of harming your mental health. Certain apps have more than 8,500 topics to explore and can have bookmarks to get the information you need quickly.
3. Set Time Limits
You might not even realize how much time you spend looking at your screen. To check, go into Settings to find a summary of your daily phone usage. There are tools you can utilize to set limits to your use. An option for “sleep mode” allows you to pick a time range to silence your notifications.
Along with setting a limit to notifications, you add time restraints to specific apps. To cut down your browsing on apps like email or social media, limit yourself to 10 minutes on the app. It will help you stay conscious of how much time you’re spending on your phone. Hours can go by without you realizing it, so take back control of your time by setting these limits.
4. Declutter and Simplify
Revamping your phone can help more than you think. Your home screen is likely filled with social media apps directly on the first screen. If you see them, you’ll probably want to click on them. To change the relationship you have with your phone, adjust the layout.
On the front, add a background with a picture of someone important or an inspirational quote. Then move all your social media into one folder on the second or third page of the phone. Fill your home screen with widgets of pets, loved ones and daily affirmations. Put your self-care and educational apps on the first page to make them the most accessible.
Use Your Phone Wisely
Your phone is a fantastic tool when you use it productively. Once you start utilizing the resources at your fingertips, you can create a place that improves your overall well-being instead of hurting it.
