Smartphones have made it easier than ever to stay connected to the people you love. They’ve also made it easier for clients and bosses to contact you. That can create a lot of anxiety for people who are dedicated to their jobs.

If constant contact is starting to make you feel anxious, then you should consider adopting these smartphone habits:

Track How You Use Your Time

Before you can change your smartphone habits, you need to know how you spend your time. A lot of people are surprised to learn that they spend more time on their phones than they thought.

Use these apps on your smartphone to determine whether you use your phone too much:

These apps do a lot more than just log the time you spend on your phone. For instance, through the Galaxy’s 5-inch display and fast Android processor, they will also give you details about what you do with your smartphone. You might find that you waste precious minutes (or even hours) using certain apps or visiting distracting websites.

Until you know what you’re doing with your gadget, you’ll find it difficult to change your smartphone habits.

Set Aside Smartphone-Free Hours

Some people use their smartphones so much that they worry they might have actually become addicted to them. When this happens, frequent users can start to feel anxious just because they don’t have their phones nearby.

One of the healthiest smartphone habits and an effective way to find relief is designating smartphone-free hours. When you don’t let yourself use your phone during certain parts of the day, you don’t have to feel so anxious about being away from it.

Eventually, you will learn that you don’t need your phone to feel at ease.

Some good times to live without your smartphone include:

  • Driving to work in the morning
  • Your lunch hour
  • Having dinner with your family

You may also want to set aside time for reading and other hobbies. Even if you’re just watching TV with friends, it helps to get some time away from your phone.

Turn Off Alert Signals at Night

If your phone keeps you awake at night, there is a good chance that sleep debt is causing some of your anxiety. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body and brain start to feel stressed. You can even experience hormonal changes that contribute to your anxiety.

Many people use their phones as alarm clocks to make sure they get up on time, so you may not want to turn the phone off while you’re asleep.



You can, however, turn off the phone’s alert signals so it won’t disturb you at night. That should help you get restful sleep so you’ll feel refreshed in the morning.

Designate Times to Check Messages

Checking and responding to messages throughout the day can take up a lot of time. While it’s important to respond to emails and texts in a timely manner, you don’t have to reply immediately. In fact, checking your messages too often can cause distractions that make it hard for you to reach your goals.

The problem is probably even worse than you think since you lose much more than the time you spend checking and responding to messages. Studies show that it takes about 20 minutes to recover from a distraction. Even if you just spend a few minutes on your phone, you are probably wasting about half an hour.

With your smartphone creating constant distractions, it’s no wonder you always feel stressed.

You can avoid this by designating specific times to check your messages. Perhaps you’ll only look at your phone once an hour, or only check messages after taking breaks. Find times that work well for you so you can minimize distractions and focus on work. You should find that you have more free time to relax at the end of the day.

Smartphones are amazing pieces of technology, but they do come with some downsides. If your phone makes you feel anxious, you may need to change the way you use it.

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