Let’s be honest. The smartphone is an extension of our bodies. This ultra-important tool accompanies us all day and all night. We communicate with our friends and family, we shop through it and order food. Also, we can run the company and manage our businesses. A pretty powerful machine, huh? However, this small device has its dark sides…

What do the statistics can tell you?

People on Instagram upload over 95 million photos a day. It’s almost 4 million pictures per hour, 65,972 images per minute, and 1099 photos per second.

When it comes to YouTube, over 400 hours of content is being uploaded on the platform every minute. Videos are displayed 5 billion times a day.

Facebook shows 317,000 posts per minute.

Can you even imagine those numbers? They are enormous. None of us can consume all the content that is being uploaded on the Internet every day. There is no chance.

Have you ever wonder how does the smartphone steals our time?

Research has proven that each of us looks at a smartphone for an average of 171 minutes (almost 3 hours!) during the day. That’s quite a lot. How much time do we spend with our devices through a week, month, or a year? Just do the math. On top of this, we touch our phones 2,617 times a day! Something is not right here. We are addicted.

Have you ever think, “Oh God, how will I survive without my phone all day?” when you forgot to take it on your way to work? Many of us, if not all, cannot leave the house without a smartphone because we got so used to it.

Research has shown that we spend one full day on the phone every week. It gives us 52 days a year. Again, that’s quite a lot.

Now ask yourself and be honest. Do you think this doesn’t apply to you?

Well, it is easy to do a reality check! If you have an Android phone, you can install an app QualityTime. If you have an iOS iPhone, you can open an app called Screen Time. Both applications count how many times a day you unlocked the screen and how many minutes you spent in each app.

The results will probably surprise you. I believe it will also help you to realize that you don’t have to reach for your phone, without even thinking, every time you grab it.

Do you already know where I am going with all of these today?

Now, take your smartphone and turn off all notifications that disturb you and your work during the day. In the beginning, it might feel so weird that the phone is silent and free from all information that was trying to reach you, but when you get used to it, you will be surprised how much time you have recovered.

Remember, every time you install applications on your smartphone, it is asking you if you allow notifications to be displayed. The authentic message should be: “Do you agree to let us distract you all the time and disturb you at work when you are doing essential things?” Maybe more people would actually think about if they really want it.

The good thing is that you can withdraw your permission at any time. To do it, you need to go to your phone’s settings and turn off all notifications that applications send you. You can keep the most essential for your business to communicate with your clients or coworkers.

You can also consider turning off the Messenger application because when people see that we are active, they will instantly bother us with any tiny details and take our focus far away from our duties. If you can’t give up Messenger, at least don’t connect or disconnect your phone book from it, because when someone writes you an SMS, you get on Messenger to read it, then you can find five other messages that are craving your attention, and you start replying to all of them. You will lose valuable time because you get distracted again.

HOMEWORK

When you finally turn off notifications, write it down on the worksheet you downloaded and printed last time.

“I am more focus at work because my phone doesn’t distract me at work, and I feel more productive.”

Every evening you can mark the completed task. It will build up your sense of being productive, and it will be easier for you to hold to your resolutions and build positive habits. You will notice the progress every day, and what is more important, you will see the real change in your business.

If you don’t have the worksheet yet, you can download it below and read the full article here.

Try to keep your smartphone out of sight (out of mind), and also switch on airplane mode. Research has shown that focus and performance issues only occur when we see that the smartphone is nearby. Its presence within reach makes your productivity drops by a dozen or so percent. So it’s in your best interest to keep it out of your sight range, so you don’t get tempted to use it. Stay strong!

Many hugs,
Eva