Day 11: Make Good Stuff Easier
Welcome to Day 11 of the Phone Breakup Challenge!
Phone and app makers design their products to be as easy to use as possible because, well, they want us to spend more time using them!
That’s why we’ve been putting so much work into making our phones and apps harder to use and less appealing – by, for example, redesigning our home screens, deleting problematic apps, and getting our phones out of our bedrooms at night. (You did those things, right?)
Now it’s time for us to use the tech companies’ techniques to help us: we’re going to make it easier to spend time on the stuff we want to spend time on.
For example, if you say that you want to read (or journal or craft) more, put a book, journal, or craft project on your bedside table where your phone used to “sleep.” That way, when you reach for your phone on autopilot before bed (which you likely will, because it’s an ingrained habit), your hand will end up on . . . your book (or journal or craft project). And believe me: if you’re already cozy in bed and your alternative activity is right there waiting for you, you’re probably not going to leave the comfort of your covers to go retrieve your phone.
You can apply this principle (“make the things you say you want to do easier”) in lots of different ways. For example:
If you want to practice your guitar more, leave your guitar out of its case
If you want to cook more, pick a few recipes ahead of time, get the ingredients, and leave the recipe out on your counter
If you want to exercise more, leave your workout clothes out the night before
If you want more screen-free ways to relax, consider leaving out a puzzle or some games
If you want to write more, get yourself a beautiful notebook, or a stationery set
If you want to connect more with your family over dinner, get some conversation prompts (I love this collection) and leave them out on the table
So take a few minutes today to brainstorm and make some changes – and then tell us what you did in the comments!
To scrolling less, living more, and getting a good night’s sleep –
PS:
As always, you can ask me and your fellow participants questions—and share observations and insights with each other— by leaving a comment.
You can also send me questions privately simply by responding to your daily email, but I encourage you to engage with the community; you may be surprised to discover that other people are struggling with the same thing!
If you leave a comment on the blog, please be sure to check back — I read through every comment, and try to respond to each one! (And other people often chime in, too.)
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Catherine will be popping in once a day to read through and respond to your comments. You may also hear from other members of the team, Maryana and Laura, who are helping with logistics.