How to overcome the dependence on the smartphone in 5 simple steps

Most modern people spend with your smartphone a lot of time. According to a recent studyU.S. Consumers Time-Spent on Mobile Crosses 5 Hours a Day, The average person spends on games, social networks and other applications for four hours a day. And this is 28 hours a week - a figure considerable.

Editor and writer Megan Holstein tried many methods to overcome the smartphone addiction. She tried to completely remove the social networks from your phone, and even take screenshots of your iPhone is black and white, but these measures do not produce results. As a result, Megan developed leadershipConsisting of five steps, which proved to be more effective.

The problem with smartphones is not dependent on your smartphone. If this were the case, the correct solution would be to simply get rid of it. The problem is, what applications you use and how.

Megan Holstein

Holstein warns you of the following errors before you proceed to the five steps:

• Do not remove from the social networking smartphone applications. This too
  instagram viewer
  radical step. The social network is still needed: sometimes it is the only way to communicate with any person. If you and remove them, sooner or later have to re-go to the app store and install clients.
• Do not limit the number of programs on the home screen. Surely you have the ones that you use infrequently, but they are useful from time to time. For example, an altimeter, TinyScanner and Authy. It makes no sense to remove or hide these applications.
• Do not give up on a smartphone at all. Daylight-button dialer will deprive you of the many benefits - convenient notes and task managers or cards, for example. Still, smart phones are useful, they must be easy to use wisely.

And to safely get rid of dependence or reduce it to a minimum, try the following.

1. Distinguish useful applications from the harmful

The first thing Megan offers to decide which applications you are useful, and which - harmful (she calls these programs "toxic"). Useful applications - it is, for example, banking program, calculators, Dialer, calendar, maps, and so on. And all sorts of games, social networks and applications, and overlay selfie filters are likely to be harmful.

But it is quite individually. For example, for most people, Instagram «toxic» as time-consuming and does not bring any benefit, other than cherishing one's own ego. However, if you are working with social networks, Instagram that can be useful and even necessary for you.

Holstein calls the following symptoms of harmful applications:

• Do you feel that desire to open and check it irresistible.
• Do you regret that spent a lot of time in it.
• It makes your life worse, not better.
• It does not bring practical benefits.

Make a list of useful and "toxic" on the smartphone software, to know what it is to limit yourself.

2. Remove the really harmful programs

If you have your smartphone lying around any applications you are not using, delete them. And never place anything on the principle of "all of a sudden come in handy someday."

Having decided to remove the application, take a few minutes of his time, and in addition deactivate associated with the program account, if he is. Firstly, it will be less tempted to install it again, because will have to re-create the account. Secondly, the service will not have to remind you about myself by sending letters to the spirit: "You have not been seen, install our wonderful application."

Then poudalyat phone games. Yes, it's a nice way to spend time. But if you're reading this, then I caught myself thinking that too many get stuck in a smartphone. She loves the game of - buy gaming PC or console.

3. Move the remaining applications

Place the folders Program

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networking applications can be useful, but only occasionally. And to lower them distracted, their icons should hide as much as possible.

Move the icon to the second home screen, and then group them into folders there. So you reduce the attractiveness of social networks. Previously, to open the same InstagramYou only had only once touch smartphone. Now you have to make three gestures - swipe your finger to select the home screen, open the folder, and then just have to click on the desired icon.

The longer have to open the program, there will be less temptation to do so. In addition, if you do not keep marginally useful applications on the home screen, it will be less like about yourself and callous your eyes.

Move harmful applications top

There is a lot of variety ways sort the icons on the home screen. But if you have come to grips with the dependence on the smartphone, you are best suitable method invented by a web designer from Toronto Avery Schwartz.

Avery places its application, based on how easy it will be to reach out to a particular icon thumb, when the smartphone is held with one hand. The most useful program, it puts closer to the lower left corner of the screen (it is a left-handed). And those that take from it a long time, are sent to the upper right corner.

If you are right handed, place the application icons to work, study and sports in the lower right corner of the screen. And all sorts of social networks and chat rooms let him lie on top. The more complex you will reach for them with his thumb, the less likely you will be to open them.

Clear the home screen

After you hide unwanted applications anywhere in the folder, or the depths of the menu should be placed on the home screen of the really important things. Task Managers, zametochnikiMail client - all that allows you to spend time with properly.

Just remember the cardinal rule: never place on the home screen app that you do not want to use often.

Megan Holstein

4. Disconnect the majority of notifications

Turn off notifications for applications

Even when a customer social network he hid deep within folders and menus, it still continues to divert your attention endless notifications. Fortunately, it's easy nip.

Facebook

Open the Facebook client and click on the button with three horizontal lines, then go to "Settings". Scroll down and find the section "Configuring notifications". You can further customize which alerts from Facebook you want to receive. The more you pootklyuchaete better.

In contact with

The most popular social network to the national notifications, you can get well. Click on the button with three horizontal lines on the screen and find the icon with the gears to open the settings. There are the first point "alert". Choose when the application should bother you, but when it can wait.

Instagram

Click on the icon for your profile (with a figure icon at the bottom right). Touch the three horizontal lines at the top and go to the settings. There you will find the item "Notifications." Turn off the ones that you consider non-urgent. For example, huskies and reports of new subscribers.

Twitter

Touch the icon with three horizontal lines at the top and from the menu select "Settings and Privacy." Open the "alert". Turn off all the excess heresy, which treats you Twitter.

Snapchat

Snapchat open, and click on the icon at the top left of your profile. Then tap the icon with the gears to open the settings. Select the "Notifications" and disable what you do not.

Turn off the notification icons

Application settings - that's not all. In addition, smart phones can distract you in another way - the red circles with the meter unread notificationsThat appear on the icons on the home screen.

This is a useful thing when we are talking about something urgent. For example, when a red circle indicates that you have a missed call, and you have to call back.

But if someone tags you in a photo in Instagram, it is unlikely to require your attention at the same moment. A red icon will only distract you. So turn off the counters of unread memos for low priority applications.

Android

different shells Android-based settings may vary slightly, but in general they are similar.

Open the "Settings" of your Android and find the item "Notifications." Go to your notification settings for each individual application in the system. Select the desired program and transfer the option "mark on the application icon" in the "Off" position. Repeat until you turn off all unnecessary counter notification.

iOS

On the iPhone it needs to go to the system "Settings". Seek out select "Notifications" and see the list of applications. In it, select, for example, some social network, and click on it.

In the Settings app, move the option "Labels" in the "Off" position. Repeat these steps for each application, which should not distract you with their badges.

Turn off notifications

social networks applications have quite good and detailed notification settings. But a number of other programs do not find such. Fortunately, the extra notification can be disabled through system settings.

To do this, go to the settings, as described in the preceding paragraphs for Android and iOS. Select an application, too right to delete it, but it is too irritating to read that it says there. Click on the option "Show notifications" and set it to "Off" position. Repeat this with all the unimportant programs.

5. Install useful applications

So you removed the useless and unnecessary programs, cleared smartphone toys put away deep into the social network folders and configure notifications correctly. Now we need to go ahead and install on your smartphone something useful that after the limitation of "toxic" applications you did not have feelings of emptiness.

Megan compares dependence on smartphone smoking.

An effective way to quit smoking - to replace a bad habit for a utility. Or at least a more neutral.

Megan Holstein

Therefore, ex-smokers try to replace cigarettes with chewing gum, by drinking regular milk, or sports.

Similarly, with the smartphone. When you feel that desire to screen pozalipat compelling, do not resist - a loan does not sotssetochkami and more useful things. Holstein This is what prompts you to install.

Duolingo

The most popular application for learning foreign languages. Allows pump reading, writing, speaking and auditory perception. The program has a fair amount of alternatives for Android and iOSSo if Duolingo you do not like, you can choose something else.

ProgrammingHub

Duolingo contraption similar to, but it does not teach the languages ​​and programming. The ability to write code is very demand in our time, and if you have a chance to learn it in a fun playful way, why not do it?

magnus Trainer

Chess - not just a nice way to spend time, but also a fitness machine for the mind. definitely worth learn to playing in them, and this app will help you.

Elevate

Popular application-simulator for your brain. In it there are a lot of exercises to pump logic, concentration and memory. Application in English, so I have to brush up on the language at the same time. Those who do not fit, it is worth to take a look at the list alternatives.

FBReader

What better way affect the intellect than the book? Read quality fiction whenever you want. FBReader - great app for this, but there are other, Not worse.

Place these apps on your home screen, so they were constantly before my eyes. And if you ever get bored, instead of sticking to the social networks and games better tighten English or poreshat logical puzzles. This is also a way to kill time - just more useful.