Is your phone making you stressed?
Technology. It can be our biggest asset. But it can also be our largest source of overwhelm and feeling stressed.
It’s time to look at the ways you use you phone…because chances are it’s attached to you at all times and if it’s not, you feel a little lost.
Have you ever noticed there are times when you are scrolling on your phone and feeling crappy about yourself? Or you’ve sighed and felt stressed when you see your screen flashing with a call because you just.don’t.have.time.to.answer!!!
There’s no denying that technology is a great tool to utilize and make our days somewhat easier. But as with anything, there is strengths and limitations.
Our phones help us to keep connected, scheduled, we share and look back on memories and they can even help us exercise, meditate and encourage us to make healthy food choices. There’s literally an app or podcast for everything. (And if you’re looking for another podcast to listen to, Declan and myself host 2 podcasts just perfect for you!)
But, on the other hand they can be a sucker of time and energy. They can make us feel stressed and overwhelmed. Have you walked down the street lately and noticed how many people aren’t even looking up anymore? Or caught yourself out on a 45 minute social media scrolling binge…only to also catch yourself saying that you ‘don’t have time’ for things? Plus, reality really hits when you realise that’s 45 minutes you could have been spending with your friends, family, children or even doing something luxurious for yourself?!
Did You Know That Just By Checking A New Message On Your Phone, You Are Not Fully Present In Your Previous Task For 20 Minutes.
Here are my top tips to reduce overwhelm and feel more present in life:
Utilize Do Not Disturb mode! DND turns off all notifications from flashing up on your screen. This means you can be fully present in whatever task you are doing or people you are spending time with.
Create a night-time routine with your phone. And use night mode! The reason night mode was created is because the blue light coming from your technology is the same blue light that is in the world at mid-day…when you are supposed to be awake and alert. Not at 8pm when the serotonin is supposed to be released to signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep.
Put your phone on the opposite side of the room to your bed. Don’t give yourself the option to check your phone if you wake up at 3am. And don’t have the option to be mindlessly scrolling until 1am! Plus, when the alarm goes off on those cold Winter mornings, you have to get out of bed to turn it off!
Remember that YOU set the standard. You don’t HAVE to answer every phone call or write back to every message straight away. Get used to the idea that you can make your technology work for you. You don’t have to be accessable 24/7 and it’s healthy to have your own space and time to feel calm.
Un-follow people on social media that make you feel bad about yourself! I mean, this one is pretty self explanitory! Do a social media haul this weekend…why would you follow anyone that makes you feel like you need to be different to what you are right now!?