Hi!
I’m Catherine Price, science journalist, coach of this newsletter series, and the author of the How to Feel Alive newsletter and the book How to Break Up With Your Phone.
Thanks for signing up for the challenge – let’s get started!
This week, we’re going to establish where you are right now in your relationship with your phone, and calculate what would happen if you continued your current habits.
We’re also going to create a “speed bump” to help you become more aware of your habits, so that you can become more intentional about when and how you reach for your phone.
Before we start you should have …
Acquired an alarm clock: If you use your phone as your alarm clock, it’s the first thing you interact with every day. Replace it with a real one (or a radio one) and break the cycle.
Set personal goals: You need to know where you want to go. Take a few minutes to jot down why you signed up to this challenge and what success would look like to you.
Invited other people to take part: This challenge will be more fun and effective if you invite other people to join you. So if you haven’t already, invite some friends to sign up by sending them this link.
Now, here’s what you should do this week …
Do a simple calculation for a reality check
Here’s a wake-up call: I’d like you to identify something specific that you say you want to do but supposedly don’t have enough time for.
It could be learning an instrument, studying a foreign language, reading more books, hiking in nature or spending time playing board games with your family.
Then, go into your phone’s settings and look at how much time a day, on average, you’re spending on your phone. (This will be under Screen Time if you’re on an iPhone, and under Digital Wellbeing if you have an Android device.)
Multiply that number by 365 and divide it by 24. This is how many full days a year you are spending on your phone.
For example, if you spend three hours a day on your phone, it adds up to just over 45 days a year. For five hours a day: 76.
Imagine how your life might be different if you spent the same amount of time on one of the things you supposedly don’t have time for.
Create a ‘speed bump’
We often find ourselves checking our phones before looking up 30 minutes later and wondering where the time has gone.
To prevent these “zombie checks”, create a speed bump for yourself – a small obstacle that calls your attention to the fact that you just picked up your phone.
You could create a physical speed bump by putting a rubber band or a hair tie around your phone for a few days – something you have to physically move out of the way in order to use the phone.
You could even create a lock screen image that says: “Why are you picking me up?”
Or, if you scroll to the bottom of this email, you’ll see a special Reclaim your brain wallpaper you can save and add to your lock screen. This will help remind you how much your screentime adds up over a year as you go to open your phone. It works best without lock screen widgets.
Then, whenever you notice the speed bump, ask yourself if you really want to be checking your phone.
Remember!
It’s normal to feel horrified by your current level of screen time. That’s why you signed up for the challenge, after all. But please, try not to judge yourself. Instead, use it as motivation for the future.
You may have tried and failed to reduce your phone use before. Don’t worry: this time will be different. All you need to do is follow along with the steps, and be kind to yourself along the way.
Your journey may not be a straight line. As someone who has struggled with my own phone and created a course about how to break up with it, I can tell you that the key thing to remember is that progress is not linear.
You’re going to have good days, and you’re going to have bad days – and that’s OK. Our goal is to help you notice when you’re drifting back into your old habits and to provide you with skills that will help you get back on track.
What’s happening next week?
We’ll be making some changes to our phones and physical environments to help us take back control of our time.
To scrolling less and living more,
Catherine Price
