What They Probably Didn’t Tell You During ‘Digital Detox’

Surprising truths about building smarter phone habits

The overglorification of willpower

“It’s just about self discipline” is an argument that usually comes up in the debate around phone distractions, implying that resisting the urge to pick up and browse through your phone is basically a matter of your good intentions and willpower to stick to them.

The research points out that human beings are wired quite differently in fact. Extensive studies by Roy Baumeister revealed the scientific truth behind willpower: we humans have a daily finite amount of it. And the more we use it, the more it depletes.

So sure, not blinking at your phone during breakfast sounds easy. But by the time it’s diner, resisting a quick peak at your mail inbox or grabbing a cookie from the jar has become incredibly more difficult for that brain of yours.

But you get the point here: primarily relying on ‘willpower’ to succeed on the good intentions around improved phone behaviour is, neurologically speaking, kind of a lost battle in the long run. What’s key, is adding smart routines and rituals to the mix. Smarter phone habits that allow you minimise the amount of willpower you’ll need to focus your attention on what’s important away from your screen.

Location over motivation

50% of our brain’s capacity is allocated to sight. As humans we’re hugely driven by what we see. Thus what you see, is what you do, and eventually what you’ll get.

Surround -or don’t- yourself with the things that’ll unload the required willpower to fight bad or drive good behaviour. A few examples from other corners of life:

• Want to eat healthier? Keep that cookie jar on the highest kitchen shelf (or don’t get it in the house as a matter of fact).
• Want to work out more? Hang your workout gear in sight next to the bed.

Out of sight, (makes it so much easier to keep it) out of mind. And you guessed it: the same goes for the inverse.

You need to think about smartphone routines in the same way. Studies have shown that merely having a phone in sight reduces our cognitive ability to focus. Once you get over the initial FOMO (that’s ‘fear of missing out’) of the decision to go fully offline, having your phone out of sight is a proven way to stick to your intention, and as a bonus it helps you stay in a so-called ‘deep work’ or ‘flow’ state.

Think outside the box

Phones are purposely designed to be used as much as possible. There’s alot of books out there that detail how mobile apps are designe that keep us hooked as well as on the business model of attention economy that they fuel. Most of these phone apps are simultaneously competing for big chunks of your attention. Digital tools for smarter phone habits live on that same screen and thus face fierce competition. It’s almost like trying to start a diet when you’re in the middle of the candy store.

There’s a bunch of great digital wellbeing and productivity apps out there. Just keep in mind though, they exist only by virtue of the exact medium (the ‘screen’) that is designed to be addictive in the first place. You could say it’s kind of a catch-22.

We suggest you looking in addition for more effective habit-improving tools that only fit outside a 13' screen. Things that are purposely designed to live off screen and help you get there too.

No holy grail

We can honestly say there’s no ‘holy grail’ tactics when it comes to phone habits. Just like anything in life worth going for, there’s no magic pill or quick fixes. Just like working out or maintaining a healthy diet, you just have to put in the work.

Try to put in the effort, figure out what works and doesn’t for you. And don’t be too hard on yourself.

Less is more

Small times consistency equals change. Don’t try to hit it big on your first swing.

Dropping from 6 hours screentime to living completely off-the-grid in a day is not the way to go. And frankly not necessary. Be realistic about your intentions and pragmatic about your routines. A better approach might be to start cutting down on social media by bringing it back to scheduled time blocks for social media twice a day.