My Phone Usage

Starting on New Year's day, I began to set limits with my phone. I noticed that during the month of December, I would use my phone too much and it became a distraction. Once I realized this, I began changing how I used my phone. I wanted to start using my phone with intention, so I stopped using it  during meals. Another factor that led me to this decision was that I spent way too much time on social media. I also wanted to begin using my phone in ways that interested me-not ways that distracted me. So, after a week of having no Wi-Fi and no cellular data in a foreign country, I made the decision to make some changes in my mindset and my phone usage.

When I began to not use my phone during meals, everything changed. I instantly began to form a new relationship with my food, I was less anxious, and I felt more present. It was a little weird, at first, just sitting in silence while eating my breakfast the first time when I did this, but it was worth it. I began to shift my attention from the productivity of eating to how I felt while I was eating. In other words, I started listening to my body, and stopped focusing on the fact that I was eating just to be doing something. Also, focusing on my food allowed me to enjoy it more and have more appreciation for it. I didn't feel like I needed anything to take my attention away from that, because I felt content in those moments.

Because I stopped using my phone at meals, I stopped using my phone at other times during the day. I stopped using it in school for the most part, after I had already scrolled through Instagram or Twitter once during the day, before I would go to bed, and when I would wake up. I filled in those times of the day doing other things, like journaling, yoga, meditation, and focusing more on school work. 

During this time, I began to view my phone as a tool. I started to use it in ways that helped me instead of distracting me. I began to find things, like podcasts, that interested me.  I also started to place more importance on texting people over scrolling through social media. I also would not go on social media as a reward when I finished my homework, because I started realizing that just focusing on anything in the present was a reward itself.

Making this kind of change allowed me to focus and feel better. I am much more present, alert, less anxious, and content without using my phone that much. I highly recommend trying this.