Why can’t I put my phone down and pick up a book instead?

[MislaidMyBrain]

I really want to but just can’t seem to spend my down time away from my phone.
Anyone conquered this? Stupid question probably as you’re probably off reading or doing something more interesting and won’t see this question if you have

I have taken to turning my phone off and putting it out of sight.
Also the book has to be really engaging right from the off.
I was really happy yesterday because I actually went to bed early, read for a while and fell asleep with my glasses on.
I'd also suggest committing to reading a certain number of pages/chapters each day. Start with a few and build up.
I'm working on it too!

Dopamine addiction. Look it up on YouTube to understand more. Some good videos explain what’s going on.

I have this problem. There is an app you can get which will lock you out of FB etc after a while. Someone will know the name.

I could have written this. WTF is wrong with me, I used to be an avid reader & now I have the attention span of a gnat.

I try to do this. I have to put my phone in another room to really stick to it though. I try to do it when I'm sitting down to watch a film as well as I'll pick my phone up to check one thing and realise I've missed 30 mins of it .

For reading in bed, I try and put the phone in my bedside drawer. Me having to open the drawer to retrieve it is a physical reminder that I'm trying to not be on it and it helps me not pick it up mindlessly.

There are screen time settings on your phone that you can limit for yourself if you have iphone. You obviously can override them though so you still need to stick to it!

Same here op.

Look up grey scale, that’s what I have had to do. Bloody hate the thing but also addicted!!

I think for me, a book seems indulgent like I have loads of free time and not a huge list of jobs to do (which I always seem to have). So I feel like it's ok to just go on my tech for 5 mins usually stood at the kitchen island........
30 minutes later, I might as well have got cosy on the sofa with a book and a coffee! . It's just a mindset I have that I need to get over.
In bed, my DH needs lights out really early so I can't read then ejther (I don't lime Kinddle but orefer real books). The only place I read now is in the bath or on hokjday (got through 3 books in a week in August). I really enjoy it so it's a form of self deprivation that I need to stop.

For me it seems to be a physical addiction to the phone in the palm of my hand. So I start reading proper books on the kindle on my phone - then switch to a hard copy if I have the patience to wait for it to arrive in the post.

But I'm guilty of almost preferring watching films on my phone screen to on my laptop. I have to remember to set aside time to turn my head from side to side ...

I'm the same. I enjoy this forum and a few news sites but I just end up flicking from one to another even when I have had enough. I enjoy magazines (the week, new scientist, private eye) and I am starting to get better at reading books. I'm going to try and get in the habit of having a potter in the garden more often. TV is inane though, I don't want to concentrate on that more.

A few, weeks ago I handed my phone to my dh and got him to hide it from me for 24 hours. It was lovely! I waste so much time in this bloody thing.

I think you have to just break the bad habit/addiction.

I love reading but really struggle with the concentration it requires.

Omg @JMAngel1 that is exactly how I feel - like I don’t have time to read so pick up my phone for a 5 min break. Funny how I rack up about 5hrs of screen time a day then

I will check out the YouTube links.

I think I need a reading support group.

a book indeed seems like an indulgence,
i cannot put down a book

At bedtime I leave my phone downstairs and read a book in bed for half an hour before sleeping.
In the daytime I have reconnected with an old hobby - crochet - and as I have 2 family babies due and 2 work babies, I have a lot of crochet of baby cardigans, blankets and loveys to do!

Same , used to read a book a week. I've read 4 this year (even with lockdown) I feel ashamed

I got rid of my smartphone and got a basic phone and changed my laptop back to one family computer in the kitchen. Having less convenient methods of accessing the Internet has helped me cut down on the time spent online.

@Lordamighty

I could have written this. WTF is wrong with me, I used to be an avid reader & now I have the attention span of a gnat.

Are you me?

.

I miss my books but clearly not enough

4.18 hours today and it's just after 6pm ☹️. 7 hours a day last week, although I do listen to stories at night to help me sleep.

I'm going to set up down time

Haven't read a book in months and I used to read all the time. I'm disgusted with myself

@MislaidMyBrain there are book groups on mumsnet if you search x

Me too. Mindless scrolling, I can waste evening after evening not really watching TV and just scrolling on my phone. I can’t break the pattern!

Board is called 'What we're reading'

I struggled to concentrate during the early stages of lockdown so all the hope I had of reading a book a day went out the window. I find at the moment I spend one day online, get fed up and then read the next.

Me too except iPad rather than phone. I can't seem to settle down with a book nowadays.
It's not purely a tech thing though - I think I got out of the habit of reading at some point when DD was young (apart from reading books to her which I did a lot of). I'd do crosswords or sudoku in an actual newspaper rather than read.