Can you control your phone habit?

Unchecked phone use can erode our mental well-being, dull our professional edge, and disrupt our relationships. Here are four tips to help regain control.

1. Be self-aware

First, notice how you think, feel, and behave when separated from your phone. Be honest with yourself. You might ask colleagues, friends, and family if they’ve noticed worrisome behavior patterns. If so, make a commitment to change.

2. Self-regulate

Establish clear boundaries. Consider making meals and family gatherings phone-free or introducing a pre-bedtime hour away from your screen. Reduce notifications and put your phone away from your desk, dinner table, or bedside. Enforcing boundaries helps create a healthier balance between the benefits brought by your phone and other meaningful aspects of life. Like any habit, breaking it takes time and repetition.

3. Turn to healthy coping strategies

Instead of avoiding difficult feelings, engage in alternative emotion and stress-regulation strategies. Resources to help you mentally detach from the demands of work and recover might include physical exercise, meditation, hobbies, building human relationships, and spending time in nature.

Brain Circuits

Can you control your phone habit?

Unchecked phone use can erode our mental well-being, dull our professional edge, and disrupt our relationships. Here are four tips to help regain control.

1. Be self-aware

2. Self-regulate

3. Turn to healthy coping strategies

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Brain Circuits

Can you control your phone habit?

Unchecked phone use can erode our mental well-being, dull our professional edge, and disrupt our relationships. Here are four tips to help regain control.

1. Be self-aware

2. Self-regulate

3. Turn to healthy coping strategies

Can you control your phone habit?

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