Fight Technology Overload With These 6 Tips

You love your smartphone – right? How many good things has it done for you today? From connecting with friends to getting restaurant reviews, our phones are invaluable. However, there’s also a downside to our phones. As we focus on our phone, we often neglect dealing with things in the world around us . . . and because of this, we end up feeling stressed, depressed and overwhelmed! rnSo instead of letting your smart phone steal your mental health, steal your time and life back. Here are 6 tips for setting limits to smart phone use so you can build your life outside of the online world. 1. Exercise to get physical Getting active returns you to the physical world and helps you regain focus and awareness. Retune your senses to observe how you’re feeling and what’s going on around you. Notice the change of seasons and the neighborhood happenings along your favorite running route. 2. Ditch the screens at mealtime rnInstead focus on your family or on your own thoughts. Savor the food you’re eating. When our attention gets focused on the screen in front of us, we don’t notice what we’re eating or how much. Eating our meals in front of a screen has been linked to overeating and weight gain. And when it comes to relating, put your smart phone away. Instead of texting, talk to the person you’re eating with and listen to their responses. 3. Stop googling and think Can’t think of a name or got a question you need answered? Instead of quickly looking it up on Google, spend some time wracking your brain or pondering. Even start a discussion by asking someone nearby. When you exercise your mind this way you increase your creativity and problem-solving skills. 4. Use your senses and cook rnSee it as a ritual of caring for yourself and your family. Turn off the phone and get into the zen experience – smelling the ingredients, noticing the process as your meal prep progresses. 5. Leave your phone out of the bedroom Even if you say you only use your phone as an alarm, it’s too tempting to check email before bed. Increasingly, both children and adults report their phones interrupt their sleep and keep them up at night. It doesn’t cost much to buy an alarm clock. Leave your phone in a desk drawer or in the kitchen. But don’t take it into your bedroom. Safeguard that space as a place for you to dream and relax. 6. Evenings, weekends or vacations – unplug! Identify some times to commit absolutely to separating yourself from the phone. Start small so you won’t break your pledge. You can start with just an evening or two a week. Simply turn your phone off, put it away and spend the time discovering what’s going on inside you – not on Twitter. It may be hard at first since we’re used to the phone’s presence throughout our waking hours. But like any habit it can be broken. Enjoy the changes this brings to your life. Eventually, see if you can work up to a whole weekend - or even a vacation week – without touching your phone. Unplug From Your Phone And Energize Your Life! Technology can make our lives better – but only when we’re in control. Unfortunately, it’s easy to lose perspective and get sucked into the easy-gratification and distractions offered online. Even worse, as we neglect our offline lives more and more, problems mount up. And if we don’t watch it, we can end up escaping into our phones instead of managing these challenges. rnBut you don’t have to let this happen. By putting these 6 tips to use, you can take your life back. Find a balance. Use your phone when you need it. But learn to unplug as well. And interestingly enough, you’ll discover that the more you unplug, the more energized your life can become.