11 tips to use your smartphone for less time

Checking the news and scrolling through social media - and another half hour has passed. Who doesn't know it? Putting down your cell phone is sometimes not that easy. These 10 tips can help you spend less time on your smartphone.

• The average user spends 3.7 hours per day on their mobile phone - and the trend is rising.
• Mainly social networking, video streaming and online shopping as pastimes
• You can follow these 10 tips to spend less time on your phone and improve your daymore productive to use

People are spending more and more time on their smartphones - mainly to communicate or shop. According to a study by analytics platform App Annie, the average user spent 3.7 hours per day on their phone in 2019, up from three hours in 2018. Time that could actually be used to do something productive. With these tips you can succeed in reducing your screen time.

11 tips - How to get rid of your smartphone

1. Leave the smartphone at home

Even though it sounds absurd at first: just leave your mobile phone at home when you leave the house. For most activities this is not really necessary. For example, do you need your smartphone at work, while shopping or when meeting friends? Not really. This way you get out of the habit of constantly looking at your mobile phone and you can also concentrate better on the people around you. If you need to be reachable, the mobile phone should of course not be missing.

2. Disable sounds

Another step to get rid of your smartphone isturning off the sound. In silent mode you can decide when you use the phone and you don't feel forced to look at the screen every alarm sound. The sound makes us think it is important - even if the messages are not really relevant to our daily lives. You can also turn off only the alarm sounds of individual apps, such as Facebook or Instagram, in the settings.

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3. Disable push notifications

If you don't want to put your phone in silent mode, you can also turn off push notifications. While push notifications are intended toTo keep us informed, they also make us constantly check our phones. In addition, the feeling of obligation increases stress levels. So reduce the push notifications from your apps.

4. Banish your smartphone at night

Want to check your Instagram feed before you go to sleep? No, no. A quick check can easily turn into hours. The smartphone not only keeps you awake at night, we also often automatically reach for our mobile phone in the morning. So turn it off at night or don't even put it on the bedside table. To get out of bed on time in the morning, you can also set a classic alarm clock.

5. Practice a fun hobby

You often reach for your cell phone when you're bored. What exactly can you do about that? Do something fun, such as a lovely walk in the woods or start a new hobby. How about painting with numbers? Or diamond painting own photo where you use pebbles to create a beautiful canvas.

6. Remove the smartphone from the workplace

And mobile phones have no place in the workplace either. If you work from home, the smartphone should be far enough away from your workplace. This way you won't procrastinate or be distracted by push notifications and sounds. By the way, you can do this not only at work, but also for important tasks that you have to do at home - for example, housework or studying for a degreeexam.

7 Wear a wristwatch

Another reason to check your smartphone often: To check the time. If you discover a new message, you get stuck on your phone. A simple trick will help you with this problem: just wear a wristwatch and read the time there.

8. Black and white mode

This sounds strange at first, but it is very effective - activate the black and white mode. If the screen no longer shines in bright, rich colours, but only shows shades of gray, it becomes less attractive to the user and people tend to put the phone aside more often. Gray mode can be enabled in the mobile phone settings:

iPhone: Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Adjustments > Enable Colour Filters > Default: Grayscale.

Android: Settings > Accessibility > Visual Aids > Enable Grayscale

9. Reduction of social networks

We spend a lot of time on social media. The platforms' algorithms ensure that we always see new content - even if we have already reached the bottom of our feed. Reducing the number of social networks you use will save you time. For example, choose Instagram and delete Facebook and Twitter. If you don't want to give up your social networks completely, you can also access them on your PC, for example.

10. Set fixed times for your smartphone

It is very difficult for most people to do without their mobile phone completely. To avoid wasting too much timespend on your smartphone, you can set specific times to read the news, scroll through social media, or watch videos. Outside of these times, try to do without your smartphone and concentrate on your tasks or a fun leisure activity.

11. Digital detox

If your cell phone addiction is already advanced and the previous tips don't help, consider undergoing a digital detox. Turn off the smartphone, put it away and ideally don't use it for a few days. You can, for example, combine this detox time with a holiday or a spa weekend. After that, you'll probably find it easier to reduce your cell phone time in everyday life.

Frequently asked questions

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