How can I use my phone less?!

[Fudgewhizz]

I'm well aware that I use my phone too much, particularly on lockdown. It's become habit - if watching TV I pick it up in the adverts, or to find out about a particular actor. I can't come off Facebook as I use it for work. I feel like I want to know everything so I'm continually looking things up, and I'm forgetful so I tend to do it then and there - but then I fall down a rabbit hole of reading interesting articles. I have apps on there with recipes and shopping lists on. It's the only way I can control music on our speakers. It has my calendar on it with alerts that I need. But I think it's making me grouchy and reducing my attention span. DH and I have started to leave our phones downstairs at night, which is working, but because of all the functionality I'm finding it hard to leave it and ignore it.

Any tips on how to reduce usage when there are so many things on it that I need would be appreciated... I know it sounds so simple - just don't look at it - but it's hard to just use the functional stuff without the rest!

Two things that helped here were going back to wearing a wrist watch and having a family calendar up in the kitchen, and using both when at home instead of the phone.

Yes to leaving your phones downstairs. The other is not to carry your phones about your persons when at home, including when watching TV, eating and using the bathroom - leave them in a basket or something in the kitchen or wherever.

I’m the same!

My plans:

• get a watch so I stop picking phone up to see the time and then just ‘quickly’ checking Instagram or whatever - my thumbs do this without my brain even seemingly being involved.
• get a radio. Like you I have to control Sonos through phone and I much prefer the listening experience of a radio compared to the ceiling speakers which are never clear enough so wanted to do this anyway
• I’m thinking of finding a box which I shut it in when I get in, just to have the extra layer of opening it to make me stop and think if I really need it. Used to do this with a kitchen drawer and it worked a little bit

I’ve used screentime settings to ban and limit stuff but I always end up just overriding it so that doesn’t work long term

I definitely go for Mumsnet browsing more when I’m tired and procrastinating and/or feeling a bit sorry for myself and looking for something to cheer me up so I think some of the issue for me is just getting better at interrupting myself when I reach for the phone to work out whether actually I need a lie down, a call to a friend or to set a timer for ten minutes and get something done that I’m avoiding!

I also used to try and do daily and weekly turn off times - so 6.30-8.30 when putting kids to bed was a turn off phone time, and Sundays I tried not to pick it up at all. I did find this really helped with re-setting me so I came back to the phone using it for ‘good’ rather than ‘bad’ reasons ... BUT I never stick to it for that long - just start the habit again now and then and then it trails off again,.. but I think all this is always going to be an ongoing project tbh.

my thumbs do this without my brain even seemingly being involved

Yes, this!! I do it without even thinking. I probably know what everyone else has done today from Facebook but haven't done anything myself (I have been feeding a baby a lot which accounts for some of it, but even so....)

Surely there are MNers who have cracked this?! Or maybe not because we're all reading stuff on MN

I'd suggest reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. Understand the psychology around smartphone usage has really stopped me using it less.