How to Quit Your Phone Addiction

Transcript: Hi, I'm Charlotte, and I'm an addict. I'm addicted to screens. It's an unhealthy addiction. I've been struggling with this addiction for a while now—it started as a hobby, and then it became something I couldn't turn off. I was constantly staring at my phone or computer screen, even when I was having conversations with people or trying to read a book.

I suppose I've always been a screen addict, but I didn't realize it until recently. I was at a friend's party, and she was telling me about her son who had been diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder. She said that he couldn't stay away from screens, and she was worried about him being addicted to them.

I didn't know what she meant by 'addicted', but I knew that I could relate to the feeling of being unable to stop looking at my phone. It's so hard to resist checking it when you wake up in the morning—you just want to see how many notifications you have! And then when you're out with friends or family and they're trying to talk to you… ugh! You just want to check your phone again because you feel like everyone is waiting for you to respond so they can do something else!

But it wasn't always like this—it used to be pretty rare that I would be on my phone while doing something else. But after years of letting myself get sucked into this unhealthy habit, I grew oblivious to it.

It seems like everyone has noticed that there's something going on with our relationship with our phones these days, but we don't really know what it means or what we can do about it!

So here's what I did to break this bad habit:

I set time limits for my apps. You can too. Just go to the settings on your smartphone and add a limit – for example, if you have an iPhone turn on Screen Time.

You can also set it up so that when you've reached your limit and it's time to put down your phone, there's a little alarm that goes off reminding you to do so.

Here's what I've found: once I set these limits and started using them consistently, I was able to get more done without feeling like I was being held back by my phone.

Now when I open up Twitter or Instagram in the morning, I only give myself five minutes before getting back to work—and then another five minutes before lunchtime rolls around again. And after that? No more screen time until bedtime! This way, when my brain is ready for a break from work and wants to do something else… I turn to my creative expressions! Seriously, I've been enjoying the art of journaling. It's a beautiful wonderful amazing experience!

Revelation is produced by Ann, and hosted by me, Charlotte. Oh live and write is our graphics and social media team. A huge thanks to Anchor who hosts our podcast, thank you.

Our website where you can find all our show notes, shop, and community is at hey revel dot com. And if you want updates about Revel, please sign up for our email newsletter.