Focus: How can you be less distracted by your phone?

One of the biggest distractions at work is the phone. 

There’s probably a study to prove it, but do we really need to state the obvious?

As Christians, we are called to redeem our time, making the most of what we have. 

Why won’t you, as a solopreneur who wants to become more Christlike, act on that by properly dealing with a distracting device such as your phone?

Let’s see how it can be done.

Tips to use your phone less

If we use our phones less for recreational purposes, we can use that time to serve God through our business. 

What are some tips to use our phones less?

1. Mute ALL notifications

Those buzzes and pings distract you more than you think. Every app on your phone can be muted and it’s good to do so. If your phone doesn’t make a sound, you are less tempted to spend time on it. Which means, more time is available for useful tasks.

Also, remove the number that says how many (WhatsApp) messages you have.

The best thing you can do is make sure that those notifications also don’t show on your screen. Like how it says you have a new email. Instead, you have to open the app to see whether you got an email, or have some (Whatsapp) messages. 

But… what if people need me?
If people truly need you, they will call you. Whoever sends a text can wait until you have time to check your phone.

2. Move all of your apps to the second page of your phone

When you unlock your phone, you’ll probably look at your first screen. Most people’s home screens are filled with apps. That’s distracting.

What you can do is create a clean home screen. That means that you have to move all of your apps to at least the second screen page. Especially the apps that you find distracting, for them it’s better to move them to screen three or four.

3. Give your phone a bedtime

Treat your phone like a kid. Honestly, give it a bedtime. It is understandable if it’s hard to do this cold turkey and make your phone go untouched from 7 PM until 9 AM in the morning. So start with one day a week where you’ll put your phone away from 8 or 9 PM until the next morning.

Once you have one day in, you can add another day. Do this until you reach the number of days that you desire. You’ll notice that more time frees up in the evening to do other stuff that nurtures your soul, like reading the Bible, praying, or reading. 

But… sometimes I need to work in the evening.

That’s fine. Let your phone “sleep” on times and days that work best for you. It’s not about evening bedtimes, it’s about making sure your phone goes untouched for a longer period of time so you can focus on other important things.

4. Put your phone out of sight

Even though all of your notifications are muted, you can still get tempted into grabbing your phone and going about checking all of your apps. It’s just in our nature to get easily distracted, especially if the device is in plain sight. 

If you definitely don’t want to get distracted by your phone, it’s best to put it out of sight and preferably in another room. What isn’t there, can’t demand your attention. 

Try it out when you have to focus on a specific task that doesn’t require your device. Hide it in the space that you are in or place it in another room.

5. No-phone policy in the bedroom

A good night’s sleep starts with limiting screen time before bed. 

It is recommended to stop using screens at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. The blue light emitted by electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets can suppress the production of melatonin (the hormone that regulates sleep). This can disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and make it difficult to fall and stay asleep.

But it’s not just for optimal sleep that you should deny your phone access to your bedroom. If it’s not with you in the room, you can use the time you would normally spend on your phone doing something else or going to bed early. 

It will also prevent you from checking your phone first thing in the morning when you wake up. Instead, you could pray first or kiss your partner good morning. 

But… my phone is my alarm. 

Then it’s time to buy an alarm clock. This can’t be the reason why your phone has to be in your room. Alarm clocks aren’t that expensive and they do the trick.

Got any tips to add?

These five tips are excellent to get started. Eliminating the time spent on your electronic devices, especially your phone, will help to free up time, get you less distracted, and be able to work on things that are important to God and your business.

Do you have any tips that work great for you that you’d like to add? Let us know by sending an email to hello@borntofly.faith 

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