Put. The. Phone. Down. (5 Tricks to Help You Do It)

5 Tricks to Wrestle your Life back from Your Phone.

It’s been one of those weeks where my iPhone might as well be surgically attached to my palm. My thumb has repetitive strain, my shoulders are rounding into a permanent hunch, and my contact lenses have dried onto my eyeballs - sorry - too much?

Let’s be clear: I haven’t been doomscrolling (well... maybe a bit - but in my defence, it was mostly about how to propagate spring onions from the fridge, which surely counts as life skills?). No, my particular kryptonite is email. And WhatsApp. 

Honestly, today I looked at my phone and thought, "I hate you, Apple."

So I’ve made a promise to myself: this weekend, I’m going offline. Or at least off-notifications. A mini detox to remember what it feels like to be a human being who doesn’t compulsively refresh their inbox while making tea. And if you’re feeling the same, constantly ‘on’, yet somehow always behind, here are a few gentle hacks to help you get away from the screen and back into real life (where the spring onions grow wild and free).

1. Switch off ALL notifications. Yes, even the WhatsApps. Even Slack. Especially Slack. If it’s urgent, they’ll call. And if they don’t call? Well, who cares?!

2. Only check emails at set times. Try the 11am/4pm rule. Not first thing in the morning (you’ll derail your day), and not last thing at night (you’ll never sleep again). The world keeps spinning.

3. Leave your phone in another room. Or, if you're feeling brave, at home. Go for a walk, take an Indytute experience, eat something using both hands. Reclaim your time.

4. Turn your phone greyscale. Sounds odd, but stripping the colour from your screen makes it way less addictive. Go on, Google how to do it. It’s surprisingly satisfying. I'm definitely going to do to my kids iPad (I'm not quite ready)

5. Replace scrolling with doing. Book that pottery class. Try some disco yoga. Join a foraging walk. When your hands are full of clay, rhythm or nettles. There’s no space for screen time.