Habits of attention

ADVICE ON HEALTHIER USE OF SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Notifications from people only

Fine-tune notification settings on your mobile devices to turn off notifications for nearly all the apps. Only receiving pings and buzzes from calls, texts and messaging apps will cut down on notification anxiety. People-only notifications are also a good reminder of what our phones are best used for: communication, not consumption.

Give up social media apps

Don’t worry, you can keep your accounts, but ban them from your phone. It’s particularly helpful to limit your use to a particular (fixed) device, like a laptop or desktop computer. If you’re having trouble giving it all up on mobile, download something like Feedless for iOS. It’ll block your Facebook newsfeed in your mobile browser, which means you can focus on communicating with friends. Feedless offers similar options (paid) for Twitter and Instagram.

Schedule DND time

Even with tightly controlled notification settings, sometimes total silence is required. Scheduling the Do Not Disturb setting on your phone for periods in the morning, midday and evening sets healthy boundaries. If a phone doesn’t buzz before 8 a.m., must it be picked up? You decide. Scheduled DND periods are also a great way to set aside time for prayer and meditation.

More resources

Need more ideas to curb bad habits of distraction? The Center for Humane Technology has a helpful resource page – and a mission to demand better design from technology companies (www.HumaneTech. com/Resources/Take-Control).