If you want to have a healthy relationship with your smart phone, setting some clear boundaries around it’s usage is often considered to be the first step.
Whether we care to admit it or not, the technology and entertainment that owning a smart phone provides can fill a void in our life. Now more than ever, many of us seem to crave human connections, distractions and even comfort, so it’s not surprising that we turn to the tools within our reach as a means to satisfy those urges.
While a smart phone, tablet, or computer can be a hugely productive tool, compulsive use of these devices can interfere with work, school, and even your relationships. When you spend more time on social media or playing games than you do interacting with real people, or you can’t stop yourself from repeatedly and compulsively checking texts, emails, or apps – even when it has negative consequences in your life – it may be time to reassess how much technology you’re consuming via your smart phone or device of choice.
Considering the size, portability and general convenience of a smart phone, it’s no surprise that they generally come everywhere with us – admit it, even to the toilet. However, if you find yourself spending too much time on your smart phone and are ready to take a step back, the good news is that there are plenty of ways to set down some clear boundaries to separate you from your devices.
Do An App Purge – Having too many options at your disposal is a surefire way to give in to the temptation of getting distracted. Instead, do a cull on the apps that you rarely or never use, as this will help you to get a good grasp on decluttering your home screen and to get a head start on what you allow to take up space on your smart phone.
Organise By Folder – Once you’ve actioned said cull, it’s time to get organised. Many of us are guilty of letting our apps takeover our smart phones, but if they’re organised by category, such as work, travel, social media and even news, it’s a lot easier to mentally allocate time to each folder if and when it’s appropriate.
Delete The Problem Apps – Are you prone to playing Minecraft when you should be focussing on work or finishing an assignment? Delete it – it’s as simple as that. Even if you only manage to last a day, take note of how much more you’re able to get done without the distraction. A few hours without the problem app is a lot better than wasting continuous amounts of time.
Evict From The Bedroom – Smart phones are one of the primary offenders when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. If your smart phone lives under your pillow or next to you on a bedside table, the temptation to scroll when you should be ‘powering down’ can strike almost anyone. Instead, leave it in a different room and invest in a manual alarm clock.
Embrace Automation – At the end of the day, the tech giants know that smart phone usage can be problematic. One such example of this is the latest iOS release for iPhones, which now include profiles that can be customised for work, sleep, or even personal use if you need a way to turn off certain notifications to get stuff done. As such, try and embrace technology for good.
Instead of being a slave to your smart phone, start taking the time to carefully assess ways to make sure that your smart phone works for you – and not the other way around. However, if you’re looking for further tips on navigating the digital world, then it’s always worth speaking to the professionals.
SOS Phone Repairs are specialists in high-quality, cost-effective phone repairs, tablet repairs, and PC repairs, all backed with a six month warranty. Founded in 2015 in Coffs Harbour and now with over sixteen outlets located all over Australia, our primary driving factors remain the same: people and phones.
Whether it’s to get a few more years out of your trusted iPhone, to fix one up to sell, or to repurpose an old one as a gift, repairing a smart phone might just be easier and cheaper than you think. However, if you’re in the market for a new smart phone, SOS Phone Repairs also stocks a wide variety of refurbished handsets at a fraction of the cost of a brand new one.
While each has been carefully restored to perform at their best, all refurbished smart phones purchased through SOS also come with a twelve month warranty and can be purchased at any of our sixteen store locations. Even if you’re not on the hunt for a new phone, it’s always worth bringing your existing one in for a free health check to ensure it’s performing at its best.
If you are on the hunt for a quote, diagnostic, or even just some good old fashioned, friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call today at SOS Phone Repairs.
