The Greatest Thinkers in The World Use Their Phones the Least
3 ways I’m using my phone less to 10x my productivity
On January 9, 2007, the world changed forever.
Steve Jobs had just unveiled the first iPhone, and since, new phones with bigger screens and more colorful displays have been released.
And year after year, we slowly poisoned ourselves.
Nobody questioned the downside of bigger, better smartphones.
Screens are larger to capture more of our attention
The bigger the screen gets, the smaller our attention spans become.
This is a problem.
Attention is the only currency we control. Social media grabs our attention every day, multiple times a day, and time is gone with the wind.
Across the globe, we spend 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media daily.
And while these numbers are crazy, there are ways to reduce the amount of time you use your phone. This is important because there is a hidden advantage to less screen time.
Keep reading, and I’ll explain everything.
1. No work apps
I deleted Slack.
I became “Pavloved” by the sound of it and would immediately pick up my phone and answer the message. It could be 9 PM on a Friday, and I’d check.
It was awful.
The issue is having work apps on your phone feels like a cheat code. Technically, I could golf at 3 PM and answer work messages.
But constant notifications stressed me out. I lost sleep some nights because I feared late messages.
So finally, I deleted the app, and the stress dissipated, and now I’m more focused on what I’m doing.
Separating work and personal life helps me to stay present with the friends and family I’m connecting with.
2. Deep work
A flow state is an answer for a distracted mind.
It’s a method to keep you on task, plus it can make four hours of work feel like two.
Getting into a flow state takes practice. You won’t know what it feels like until you achieve it. But there are a few simple ways to achieve it:
Put away any food
Put on binaural beats
Put on noise-canceling headphones
Put your phone out of reach, and somewhere you can’t see
If you even see your phone, you may be tempted to grab it.
If you have a lot of work to do, you might get stressed out, and when you’re stressed, you naturally want to escape. A smartphone is a portal to anywhere and anything.
Smartphones are distractions.
If it didn’t exist, you’d be able to get more done because you’d have nothing else to do. Work would go by faster and smoother. But they do exist, so there’s a method you can use.
Try the Pomodoro Technique.
Set your timer for 25 minutes, then take a 5 break to let your brain reset. Then work for another 25 minutes. Give yourself another break and repeat.
This technique helps me relax, knowing I’m getting focused work done most optimally and not overwhelmed by overcommitting hours to work.
3. Black and white mode
iPhones have a neat trick.
You can eliminate color from your smartphone as you live in the world of The Giver. This helps for a few reasons:
Reduces the visual appeal of apps (AKA the urge to use them)
It makes the phone less stimulating, which can help with relaxation
Reduces the blue light emitted by the screen so you can sleep better
The less you want to use your phone, the more focused you can be on getting work done. And the above illustrates the hidden advantage of less screen time.
Fewer screens = more sleep.
More sleep = more energy.
More energy = more creativity.
With the extra creativity you’ve gained through less screen time, you have a distinct advantage to becoming a content creator instead of a content consumer.
Consume, create, rest, and repeat.
Do this for a year and watch your life change before your eyes.
🚨 Join 500+ others obsessed with self-mastery & learn to create 3x faster.