Technology has revolutionized everything and its future is very bright. Soon, robots will be working in factories and cars will be driving themselves around; something that could not be imaginable fifty years ago.

Anything you think about can be found on the internet. All your problems have already been solved. You do not need to visit the library and spend countless hours reading a book to find a solution to your problem. Just Google it and very many solutions will appear in seconds.

Information is everywhere and we are constantly seeking it. We are curious to know what’s happening around the world. We watch the news, read blogs and spend countless hours on social media platforms, reacting to other people’s appearances and suggestions. And you know what? We love it!

We have done it repeatedly and now it’s an insidious habit. We can’t put our phones down even when we want to. We have allowed others to control the way we think and feel. You post a picture that doesn’t get a lot of likes and you get depressed just thinking about it. You send someone a message and he or she does not reply and you feel so rejected and unwanted.

Like a two-edged sword, technology can save or destroy your life. Just like the mind, technology is a good servant but a poor master. Being addicted to technology is similar to being addicted to tobacco or alcohol.

And we are experiencing its effects without being aware. We are reactive to everything around us. Face-to-face communication is not as lively as it used to be. We think we know everything when we know anything. We tend to listen to other people’s opinions instead of listening to our intuition.

How do you know if you are addicted to technology? If you are spending more time on electronic devices than with people around you, you’re probably addicted. Again, if you feel like you do not have a life without your device, you are also addicted. Here is a test for you.

Put your phone and other electronic gadgets away for 10 to 24 hours. If it’s impossible, you are definitely addicted to technology. And it’s time you took control of your life before it’s too late. Use technology but do not allow it to use you.

If you are addicted to technology, do not feel bad. It’s an insidious habit that crept in without your knowledge. And you can break the chains and be free. Many people across the world have done it. This is proof that you can do it too.

In this article, we will discuss the five best tools or tips you can use to overcome your tech addiction. Please proceed with me.

1. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop

When you are busy working on an important project or task, you tend to forget about your phone and social media platforms. When idle, you tend to reach for your phone and other electronic gadgets to avoid getting bored.

Creating a list of the most important tasks you need to work on before you sleep or when you wake up will keep you busy and will improve your productivity and results. Starting your day without a list will definitely increase the idle moments.

If you have an urge to reach for your phone and start scrolling, ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time right now?” Maybe you should be doing something more meaningful such as journaling, taking a walk, working out, or meditating for a couple of minutes.

2. Have a strong why

You’ve definitely heard the popular saying, “It’s easier said than done.” How many times have you drawn a line on the sand and resolved to do something and failed? Maybe you wanted to work out and lose weight but after a few weeks, you gave up the gym. Maybe you wanted to read three books in a month and you ended up reading only one book in a year.

The truth is you relied on willpower and it failed you. If you want to break the chains of tech addiction, it will probably fail if you use it. So, what should you use? Why-power!

Your why will be the determining factor of your success or failure on this journey. Similar to professional essay writers, come up with a strong enough why. Your why can be something like To reconnect with your family and friends, to be free and independent or to know yourself better.

Write down your why and place it somewhere you can see it every day. Look at it regularly. Imagine how everything will be when you conquer your addiction.

3. Avoid using your phone in bed

After having your dinner, power off all your tech devices. Using your phone and other tech devices in bed affects your sleeping pattern which ultimately affects your mood and performance the next day. How?

In the morning, the sun produces blue wavelength light which reduces the production of the sleep-causing hormone known as melatonin and that causes us to wake up. In the evening, the sun stops producing blue wavelength light and this makes us feel drowsy.

Tech devices produce a blue wavelength light. When we use them in bed, the blue wavelength light falls right in front of our faces. And the brain stops producing melatonin. That’s why many people across the world are having sleepless nights and poor sleeping patterns.

Rest and recovery are important for every living organism. Poor sleeping patterns affect our behaviour and performance at work. Keep all your devices away after dinner and notice how the quality of your sleep will improve.

4. The tortoise always wins

You might find yourself planning to take big strides to take back control of your life. While it’s great to be ambitious and dream big, you need to take baby steps to kill the addiction. If you take very big steps such as using your phone for only one hour a day, you’ll probably fail.

Realize that it took months or years for this habit to creep in and take control of you. It will probably take some time for you to break the chains. Therefore, be gentle with yourself. Start small.

You can start by turning off your phone and other devices after dinner or leaving your phone at home when taking a walk.

If you push yourself hard, you’ll get tired and frustrated. And you will ultimately give in to your urges. As the popular saying goes, any change is better than no change at all. Be the tortoise. Go slow and you’ll always win.

5. Reward yourself

Taking control of your life does not happen after five months or two years. It happens on a daily basis. If you manage to take control of your life every day, it is important to reward yourself.

If your plan consists of taking ten-minute breaks in the afternoon to put your phone away and go for a walk or journal and you actually do it, reward yourself with a treat such as a cup of tea and cookies.

When you reward yourself, your mind will start associating putting your phone away with pleasantness and it will give you more reasons why you should put it away more often.

As you progress, give yourself bigger rewards. For example, if you manage to put your phone away for a couple of hours in a month, go for a tour. Create your plan in such a way that there is always something for you to enjoy in the end.

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Conclusion

In the beginning, habits are like cobwebs. After a while, they become chains that take control of someone’s life. It is important to be aware of the habits that might be taking control of you. Awareness is the first step in the process of breaking chains.

The majority of people are not aware of their tech addiction until you take all the toys away from them. If you can’t put your phone or other devices down for a couple of hours, you are probably addicted.

As the popular saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail.  Start by creating a plan that suits you and your circumstances. Create a simple plan that does not have very high standards. Remember, the habit took some time to creep in. Therefore, it’s going to take some time for you to break the chains.

Follow the plan every day. And reward yourself if you manage to follow it successfully. As you increase your pace, make your reward bigger.

Everything worthwhile in life takes time. Being free and independent in today’s world is a big thing. We have discussed five tips that you can use to break free. Which one(s) will you start using right now?

The post 5 Things to Overcome Your Tech Addiction appeared first on Tricky Enough.

Smartphones are an inseparable part of human life today. Started with a humble mobile innovation to communicate with people, today simple mobile devices have covered a long journey to become a true smartphone. While the history of mobile phones goes back to a few decades now, it is one of the most important innovations of human history that has affected the lives of billions of people around the world. This is not just a mode of communication instead it offers a lot more than that. You can use these smartphones to click pictures, create videos, check emails, run numerous apps, store a lot of data, and for numerous other things.

Though the usage of smartphone devices is immense still it is not free of its own limitations. In addition to the long talked issue of radiation, these devices are also killing lots of valuable time of people. No mobile phone phobia or NoMo phobia is spreading fast and showing some serious negative effects. While people are glued to their smartphone devices, it becomes important to find a better solution to reduce this dependence. In this article, we have discussed a few important steps that you can follow to limit your smartphone usage and break phone addiction.

Steps to be Taken to Break Phone Addiction:

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  Uninstall Unnecessary Apps

  
  

One of the simplest and most effective ways to deal with smartphone addiction is to uninstall all unnecessary apps & programs on your device. When you have this unnecessary lot of apps installed on your device, it will keep you bugging with unnecessary notifications, messages & updates. Thus, it is the best way to find & uninstall all such unneeded apps to reduce interruption in your life. To uninstall unnecessary apps on your Android device, simply head to device Settings > Apps & Notifications > App Info. Here, sift through the list of apps to find & uninstall the app. To uninstall any of these apps, simply select it and press the Uninstall button.

Furthermore, you can also use best app uninstaller apps to find & uninstall all these unnecessary apps in a jiffy. Working on smart algorithms, these apps not only uninstall selected apps but it will also remove associated files with it for safe cleaning. In addition to other third-party apps, your device also hosts certain bloatware apps that come pre-installed on your device when you buy it. You may not uninstall these bloatware apps from your device, but you can disable them to stop them using device resources. This simple trick will not only help you recover valuable device resources, but it will also optimize your device for better performance.

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  Set Network Free Zone

  
  

Next step you can follow to break smartphone addiction is to set network free zone at office and home. Here, you can keep your dining area network free or you can stop using smartphones when you are in a meeting. It will not only help you improve your efficiency, but it will also save a lot of your time. You can follow this step to set some free time for more important things in life. In addition to setting mobile free zones, you can also restrict the usage of smartphones to some extent to help you recover from NoMo phobia. You can also turn off the network when you are going to sleep to have interruption free rest.

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  Disable Notifications

  
  

Disabling notifications for unnecessary apps & programs will also help you reduce distraction while you are doing important things in life. For example, if you have multiple news apps installed on your device and you keep on receiving notifications from these apps, then you can decide to uninstall the unnecessary app or at least disable the notification for that. Similarly, notifications from bloatware apps also cause a lot of trouble. To deal with it, you can force stop these apps to save your time.

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  Enable Do Not Disturb

  
  

This is a helpful built-in feature that helps you save a lot of your time and reduce distraction. You can enable do not disturb when you are doing something really important and you don’t want to be interrupted by unnecessary notifications and messages. You can find this useful feature in device settings.

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  Use Smart Solutions

  
  

The next best solution to deal with smartphone addiction is to use smart app solutions. Here, we are talking about Social Fever that helps you monitor and manage your smartphone usage in an effective manner. It offers multiple useful features to help you break phone addiction. These features include setting & tracking goals, show phone usage history, displaying app usage, and many more. You can use this powerful app for instant and effective results.

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Conclusion:

To deal with spreading smartphone addiction, it requires some serious efforts. Here, we have discussed a few simple yet effective tips that you can follow to reduce your dependence on smartphone and deal with smartphone addiction. Following these powerful tips, you not only manage to break phone addiction, but it will also help you save a lot of your valuable time for family & friends. Out of these smart tips, using smart apps to limit and manage your phone usage is one effective solution that we highly suggest saving your time. In addition to these tips & tricks, if you know other effective ways, then feel free to comment below.

The post Tips to Limit Smartphone Usage – Break Phone Addiction appeared first on Tricky Enough.